Dragonball Divergence
by TokiNabi
Summary: A single conversation with Kami radically alters Chi-Chi's fate, throwing her life from the mostly peaceful path of a housewife, to the arduous road of a warrior. Chi-Chi-centric.
1. Being Different

**Dragonball Divergence by TokiNabi**

**Disclaimer:**Dragonball, Z and GT belong to Akira Toriyama and Toei. Some of the dialogue and plot points in this fanfic are from the Dragonball manga. The rest however, is my own work. This is simply a work of fiction for fun and not for the purposes of profit.

**Notes:**

**Kame house** – Muten Roshi's house. 'Kame' literally means 'turtle.'

**Gi **– Basically, a martial arts training uniform. A notable example is the clothes Goku wears for most of the series.

**Cheongsam – **Chinese dress. Traditionally, these dresses were quite long and also meant to be modest. Today they tend to be form-fitting, and knee length dresses in this style are available.

**Chapter 01: Being Different**

**~o~o~o~**

As far as Chi-Chi was concerned, her marriage to Goku was turning out to be one of the happiest days of her life. The wedding reception party had just gone into full swing, and everyone seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. Goku's friends were mingling with the other guests and most notable were Krillin, Roshi and Yamcha who were shamelessly flirting with every girl who passed them. Bulma had noticed Yamcha's behavior, and unnoticed by the man, was stalking toward him, flaring with barely repressed fury.

Stifling a giggle, Chi-Chi looked for her husband and found him where he had been ten minutes before – at the buffet table. True, she was slightly miffed that her husband had sprinted for the food the second the ceremony officially finished, but he was _hers_ now. She felt giddier than she had in years. Goku was- he was…she tilted her head, frowning as she watched her husband shove food into his mouth at what appeared to be an inhuman pace. She was actually having trouble seeing his hands – they were moving so fast. For the first time, Chi-Chi began to wonder if there might be some things about Goku she would find difficult to live with. She had seen him eat before, but she had never given the implications of his appetite much thought. Would there be enough income in their household to support her husband's eating habits? How much would she have to cook for him every day?

_'But Goku's been doin' fine all this time livin' in the woods… so he probably knows how to get all the food he needs without spendin' money.' _She decided confidently. _'And he can make meals too, so it's not like I'll have to cook all the time…'_ Everything would work out somehow and they would _definitely_ be happy together. Of that, she was sure.

"Chi-Chi!" It was her father's voice. Turning to face him, she smiled when she saw his massive form lumber toward her.

"Daddy! Is there somethin' wrong?"

"Kami's here!"

She blinked. "Kami is…?"

"Yes! He's walkin' this way right now!" Her father gestured at the figure approaching them from the hill.

"I wonder what he wants?" Chi-Chi huffed in slight agitation. "He better not be tryin' to steal Goku away again!"

Kami had come to Goku in the past to ask for his help in defeating evils he couldn't subdue alone. He had also recently asked him to become the new Kami of earth upon Piccolo's defeat. Goku had refused the request point blank before making a quick getaway, but it appeared that Kami was returning to ask again. Thus, it came as a surprise when the guardian of earth walked right up to Chi-Chi and formerly requested to speak with _her_ alone.

Seeing his serious expression, Chi-Chi decided not to refuse him despite her annoyance at being pulled away from her own wedding. After informing Goku and her father that she would be having a short chat with Kami and would return in a few minutes, she followed the wrinkled green man to a secluded area a short distance from the party.

"Erm… Mr. Kami...? What did you want to talk about?" She asked, hoping her annoyance wasn't showing through in her voice.

He turned to face her, expression somber. "I'm sorry. I do realize that the timing of this conversation is quite unfortunate…but I don't think I'll be able to find a better opportunity than now…" The old man sighed. "It's a pity, but this issue must be addressed."

"What did you want to speak to me about?" Chi-Chi asked again, curiosity replacing her impatience.

"As you know, Son Goku defeated the demon Piccolo a short while ago, and with that victory he achieved a fragile, temporary peace."

"Goku'll defeat Piccolo even if he comes back!" Chi-Chi declared sharply. "He'll never let himself lose against that guy!"

"I have no doubt about that." Kami smiled. "He's shown me many times, that he has quite the talent for defying the odds, no matter how highly they're stacked against him. But you must know a man like Goku naturally attracts trouble. There will no doubt be a time in the future when he is faced with dangers beyond his capabilities."

"So why're you tellin' me this? Why aren't you tellin' Goku all this?" She asked, frowning.

"Goku will always face each and every danger that arises with everything he has. It is not his resolve I am concerned about. It is yours."

"W-what?" Chi-Chi stuttered, completely caught off guard by his statement. "My resolve?"

"As Goku's wife, you too may be in danger from his enemies and once you start a family, your children may also be targeted by Goku's enemies. There may even come a time when you regret marrying him." Kami said solemnly, expression darkening. "I wanted to know if you had ever given any thought to these possibilities when you decided to become his wife."

"So what're you really tryin' to say?" Chi-Chi asked quietly, eyes narrowed and jaw set. Her arms had straightened at her sides, and her hands had balled up into tight fists. "'Cause it sounds like you're tryin' to break up my marriage."

Kami met her hard stare and calmly returned it with a somber expression of his own. "Suppose what I am saying about the danger you may face as Goku's wife is true. As powerful as Goku is, he will not always be able to protect you or the family you create together. And against an enemy powerful enough to stand against Goku, you would be utterly defenseless – a laughably easy way to hurt, or gain power over the strongest man in the world. This marriage can very well mean that you will live in constant fear of becoming either a victim or a bargaining chip. Is this not enough reason for you to break this union?"

Throughout Kami's speech, Chi-Chi's expression had grown progressively darker and her form had tensed up to the point where she was shaking. Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes at him and lowered her chin aggressively, baring her teeth. "Don't…underestimate me." She muttered lowly.

"I beg your pardon?"

She straightened, eyes burning into Kami's. "Somethin' like that won't scare me away!" She burst out loudly. "I love Goku! I'll do whatever it takes to make this marriage work, and I know he'll work hard too 'cause he's that kinda guy! So what if his enemies come after me? I'll just get strong enough to kick their asses and Goku won't have to do it all himself! So if you're here to try and break us up, don't bother, 'cause it isn't gonna happen!" At that moment, Chi-Chi didn't even care that she had yelled at the guardian of earth, or how powerful and important he was. She was just pissed that he could say such insensitive things, and on her wedding day of all days!

Chi-Chi stood her ground and waited for Kami's reply.

As it was, the old man was giving her a wide-eyed look of shock. He coughed a few times while he composed himself. Once his serene expression returned, he spoke. "Son Chi-Chi," the man began gravely. Chi-Chi tensed, preparing herself for his response. "I think you will make a great wife for Goku!" He laughed.

"Gwah!" Chi-Chi choked, falling over. "Ugh…what!" She asked as she got back to her feet. She anxiously patted off some stray grass blades clinging to her dress, hoping none of the leaves would stain the expensive white lace.

"You are more strong-willed than I gave you credit for. You've proven yourself as a woman worthy of Goku." Kami smiled widely.

"W-well of course." Chi-Chi said, still baffled by Kami's seemingly sudden change of heart. "Naturally I'm the best woman for him! We've been engaged since we were children!" _'Even if he didn't know it at first…'_ She mentally added.

Kami chuckled again. "Indeed? Well, let it be known that this long awaited union now has my full blessings. Congratulations."

"… Thank you." Chi-Chi said awkwardly. "I…appreciate it. Um…well then. I should be gettin' back to the party…" She bit her tongue to prevent herself from asking Kami to leave. She was sure bad luck would be certain to follow if she did so, and it would be extremely impolite as well. "…Why don't you join the party too? We'd be honored…"

"Son Chi-Chi."

"Yes?" She straightened.

"Remember what I have told you. I was not merely testing your resolve. It will be dangerous to be with Son Goku, but if you are still willing to be with him, then you must be prepared. Become strong, Chi-Chi, and find happiness within the cultivation of your abilities, rather than the suppression of them. Do not fear acting against some of the ideals you were raised under." He winked. "Hmm…and I do believe I will take you up on your offer and mingle with a few of the guests before I take my leave." He remarked as he turned and left the stunned bride staring after him.

"A-ah…" She said, blinking as she absorbed his words. "Okay. Great." And quietly, she walked back to the party, mulling over what had just happened.

"Become strong…" Chi-Chi whispered. She had been taught all her life that a girl could do whatever she wanted, but a woman as a good wife would have to stay at home to do chores and raise her children. If she did that though and didn't get stronger, how could she help Goku keep their family safe? The only way she could help him was if she was able to keep herself safe.

"Well…" Chi-Chi said slowly, tentatively pulling up the idea that had begun to form within her mind, strange as it felt. "Well…Goku's obviously not an ordinary guy, so…so I can't be an ordinary girl either!" Chi-Chi decided out loud, determination pumping through her. She smiled then, finding herself feeling relieved, even though she felt like she was breaking some sort of rule.

In truth, she hadn't wanted to give up training and as much as she liked the idea of being a housewife, staying at home to do housework_ all the time_ had sounded awfully boring. She had resigned herself to the idea though, since her teachers and books had insisted on the necessity of such a life for the successful cultivation of a family.

"But that won't work out for the family I'm gonna have, so I just won't be like that!" Chi-Chi declared happily, a slight bounce in her step as she walked to Goku's side.

**~o~o~o~**

"Hey Chi-Chi. What did Kami talk to you about?" Goku asked curiously, mouth full of food.

Too overjoyed to tell him to chew with his mouth closed, Chi-Chi simply leaned down, and surprised him with a kiss on his cheek. "Nothin' much." She smiled warmly. "I just had to tell him that you're stayin' with me from now on."

Goku couldn't resist grinning back. Something about Chi-Chi's smile made him feel nice and he decided then, that being married to her might be all right after all, even if it was weird when she hugged and kissed him.

**~o~o~o~**

"Goku! You gotta carry me 'cross the threshold!"

"Threshold?"

"The doorway! You gotta carry me 'cross the doorway, 'cause it's bad luck if you don't!"

Goku shrugged. "Er, okay." And leaning down, he attempted to pick her up, struggling around her puffy dress. Chi-Chi burst out laughing when he gave a grunt of frustration as he tried to figure out where her legs were situated in all the layers of frothy white lace and silk.

"Ahh, hold your arms out!" Chi-Chi chuckled, pushing him back. She wiped away tears that had been pushed from her eyes by the force her laughter. He did as she asked and she jumped nimbly into his arms, holding onto his neck. "K, let's go!" She announced, pointing at the door.

"K." He moved carefully through the entrance of their new home, making sure not to whack Chi-Chi's head or legs against the sides.

"We're home!" Chi-Chi called out once they were completely inside, wanting to make the moment official. Elation rushed through her and she couldn't stop the smile that rolled across her face. Cheeks rosy with happiness, she looked at her new husband. "Goku! We're home!" She giggled.

"Yeah." He smiled back at her, feeling the beginnings of affection for his wife budding within him. "We're home."

And so they began their life together.

*** * * Five Years Later * * ***

"Hurry up Goku, we've gotta get goin'!" Chi-Chi called out. She frowned when her husband appeared from the side of the house. "Oh Goku, you're really not gonna to change?" She asked, glancing disapprovingly at his traditional orange gi.

He shrugged. "It's not a formal get together. My trainin' clothes are just fine. Besides, we're visitin' Master Roshi. I'm sure Krillin'll be dressed more or less the same."

Chi-Chi sighed, tugging at imaginary wrinkles in her white mini-jacket and pink knee-length cheongsam. "Well if you say so…" She cast her eyes around searchingly. "Gohan? Come on, we gotta get goin'! We'll be late!"

"Nah, if we go with Nimbus, we'll get there on time." Goku said, sounding much more relaxed than his wife. "'Sides, Gohan's just finishin' up his exercises. We should let him get through 'em before we go."

"Oh, all right." Chi-Chi huffed, hoping her little boy was only doing some stretches. She didn't want him to get all sweaty and stinky before the get-together, regardless of how casual it was. "I suppose I should let him, since I've been givin' him a lot of homework these days. He's been so good about finishin' it all."

"I don't even see the point of givin' him that kind of work…" Goku remarked carelessly. He realized his mistake too late and instinctively held up his hands in preparation for the backlash.

"I've told you so many times already! I want Gohan to be a scholar when he grows up! Fightin' isn't everythin'! These days, it's the jobs that use the brain that brings in the money!" Chi-Chi snapped. "Neither of us makes money, and the tournament money won't last forever!"

"Okay Chi-Chi." Goku said automatically, having learned early in their marriage that it was simply better not to disagree with his wife about subjects she felt strongly about.

**~o~o~o~**

The first few months of their marriage had been admittedly rocky, with the newlywed couple learning how to live with each other. It had been a little more difficult for Goku, who had been accustomed to living alone and found it trying at times to adjust some of his daily routines and habits to please Chi-Chi, who was quite adamant about getting her way.

Chi-Chi herself had expected Goku to have more sophisticated hygiene and house-keeping skills and thus had been horrified by some of his less than tidy habits. Needless to say, some of their disagreements about living habits ended in full-blown arguments – or at least, with Chi-Chi blowing up at Goku for being a slob and Goku making a quick getaway while wondering what he had gotten himself into by promising to spend the rest of his life with such a volatile girl.

The tense moments where the couple didn't talk to each other did not last long however. Goku, earnestly wanting to follow through with his promise to Chi-Chi, did his best to make things work out by always returning and apologizing to his wife. She was always willing to forgive him after cooling off, and the two would move on from there.

Chi-Chi also had done her best to change some of her own habits to suit her new life with Goku out in the woods. As a princess, she had always been surrounded by people: family, friends or employees and was used to having people do as she wished. At first, it had been a bit of a shock for her be alone so much – Goku had many errands to complete outside the house, and sometimes he just wanted to be on his own. There wasn't anything she could do about that – Goku needed his space. He had made that clear when he left the house for about a day after one of their more serious arguments.

It had therefore been a pleasant surprise when Chi-Chi noticed Goku making an effort each day to spend more time with her, apparently having figured out to some extent how she felt about being by herself for long periods of time. (Most likely she had screamed something about it during their last argument...) Though she did get angry at Goku often, Chi-Chi knew he was doing his best, and that was really all she could ask for in a man, even if he wasn't particularly well-versed in matters of etiquette. If there was anything she learned during the first few years of their marriage, it was that she needed to be less up-tight if she wanted them both to be happy.

Despite all their differences, Chi-Chi and Goku were able to find a few things they both liked. Martial arts was one of them – and quite possibly the activity they spent the most time together doing. Goku wasn't the most patient man, but he didn't mind spending a few hours each day teaching Chi-Chi how to become a stronger and more proficient fighter. He enjoyed their sessions together and though he never mentioned it, Goku thought Chi-Chi looked prettiest when she was flushed and fired up while they trained. She also tended to be in a more agreeable mood after they finished. Thus it seemed natural that it was through training together that Goku became comfortable with being in close contact with Chi-Chi.

With all the time they were spending together, it wasn't long before the couple became intimate. As both were inexperienced, the pair spent many shy, sometimes clumsy and often wonderful occasions simply figuring out what they liked. Goku wasn't much of a post-coital cuddler, but Chi-Chi had expected as much and contented herself with snuggling against him – which he was perfectly fine with. He made up for it however, by surprising his wife with random displays of affection during the day when he remembered to give them.

A year later, Gohan was born, much to the young couple's delight.

Goku in particular had been both amazed and fascinated by the birth process, having been previously ignorant of how babies came into the world. To think that babies grew inside women's stomachs! He was full of questions during Chi-Chi's pregnancy, ranging from how long it would take for the baby to arrive, and whether she would lay an egg like some of the birds he had observed while in the forest.

Chi-Chi couldn't help but be charmed and entertained by Goku's excitement. Some of her husband's questions about her pregnancy were bizarre enough to make her laugh out loud, which was perfect for the times she felt overwhelmed by a negative mood-swing. She also liked how protective he became of her. Besides being more willing to do even the most pointless tasks for her, he was a bit more affectionate. The number of spontaneous hugs and kisses she received significantly increased while she was pregnant.

Goku liked pregnancies. Or rather, he liked the idea that a baby, a little child that both he and Chi-Chi were a part of, was growing within his wife. "Women sure have mysterious powers." He had remarked in awe the first time he had learned that Chi-Chi had a baby in her. Sure, a pregnant Chi-Chi was sometimes scarier than the late Demon King Piccolo Sr., even before Goku made the horrific error of mentioning how much Chi-Chi had ballooned up (not even telling his irate wife that he honestly thought her adorable had cooled her rage), but Goku figured it would be worth it when the kid arrived.

And when Gohan was finally born, Goku discovered that he had been right. It had been worth enduring all the mood swings, the violent outbursts, bizarre tasks and watching helplessly as Chi-Chi struggled valiantly through physical and mental pains he would never be able to understand. It was worth every moment, because it resulted in the delivery of a very healthy and happy baby boy.

Little Gohan cried most of the time, but he was unbelievably adorable and every so often, he would give signs of being exceptionally smart and strong. Proud parents Chi-Chi and Goku both picked up on Gohan's natural potentials and came to an agreement. Goku would be allowed to train Gohan – not too hard! – as long as it didn't interfere with his studies which Chi-Chi would oversee.

**~o~o~o~**

"I'm done daddyyy!" Gohan called out, straightening from his crouch.

"K, let's go!" Goku announced happily. "Nimbus!" He summoned the flying cloud.

"Finally!" Chi-Chi sighed. "Wait a sec, Goku… Here Gohan, change into these." She handed him a fresh set of formal robes. "We can't let you go there lookin' a mess and smellin' like sweat."

"K, mom!" Gohan chirped, his tail waving cheerfully behind him.

**~o~o~o~**

"Hiya!" A beautiful blue-haired woman dressed in an oversized white jacket, blue tank top and white shorts chimed as she walked in through the door of Muten Roshi's kame house. "How is everyone?"

"Bulma!" Krillin stood up, grinning widely. "What a sight! How long as it been?"

"Hehehe- too long!" Roshi declared. "You never call! You never visit! Even a picture would have been nice!" _'Hmm…a picture would have been __**especially**__ nice.'_

"Well, maybe these dumplings will make up for lost time!" Bulma declared, lifting up a nicely wrapped box so that it was level with the old man's eyes.

"Well that's real kind of you, but there's somethin' even better you can offer me…like how about lettin' me get reacquainted with the twins for old time's sake?" The old man giggled, eyeing her chest lasciviously. He leaned forward, intentions clear. "Then we can call it all even!"

"Old pervert, you haven't changed a bit…" Bulma growled under her breath. "So, how have you been in the past few years?" She asked Krillin lightly as she rubbed her reddened right knuckle. A short distance away, Roshi twitched sporadically on the ground, a bump steadily rising up on his face where Bulma had punched him. "Here. You can eat some of these first." She said, handing the box of dumplings to him.

"Uh…I've been okay. The same as before, just training in my spare time." Krillin said nervously, eyes darting to Roshi who was still lying prone on the floor. "By the way, where's Yamcha? I thought you two were going to come together?"

"Humph! That jackass! Don't even get me started on that loser!" Bulma shrieked, throwing her arms up in anger. "After what he did to me! That bastard should be kissing the ground that I walk on, but instead he-! Ooohhh! Forget him! I didn't tell him about today's reunion, so he won't be coming!" She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Haaa…" She exhaled loudly, smoothing her hair back. "Is Launch coming?"

"No idea. Probably not. Last I heard, she went chasing after Tenshinhan. There's been no word from her since."

"I see…" Bulma sighed. "Well I hope she got him. I know she really liked him." She looked around the small, neatly arranged room. Even if he was a horrible lecher, Roshi was quite tidy - she had to give him that. "Goku and Chi-Chi haven't come yet?"

"Nope." Roshi said, appearing to have made a full recovery. "They're a bit late."

"HEYYY!" A cheerful voice called from outside the house. "Anyone home?"

"Goku's here!" Krillin yipped excitedly, rushing out the door. Bulma and Roshi hurried after him, eager to see their old friends.

"Hey you guys!" Krillin greeted the new arrivals.

"Hi!" Goku and Chi-Chi answered simultaneously. Chi-Chi inwardly pouted when she noticed that Goku had been right about Krillin also wearing a gi to the get-together.

"Looking good you two!" Bulma laughed. "So I see you guys are still happily married?"

"Humph, naturally!" Chi-Chi sniffed, standing up straighter with her hands on her hips. "Our marriage is goin' strong and nothin's gonna change that!"

"Ahh…as admirable as always." Master Roshi said, wagging his eyebrows in a way that made Chi-Chi's skin crawl. His hand reached out to slide along her butt. "How about lettin' me become acquainted with-" Chi-Chi's kick sent him in a high arc over the Kame house.

"Pervert…you haven't changed…" Chi-Chi growled under her breath. "Unbelievable…"

"Wow…Chi-Chi you've gotten a lot stronger!" Krillin whistled in awe, wincing when a cloud of sand rose up upon the old man's impact behind the house.

"Hehe…well I _did _have the strongest man in the world trainin' me all this time." Chi-Chi giggled bashfully. "I mean, we really went at it every day, so there was no way I couldn't get better."

"Wah!" Gohan yelped, when while running to his father's side, he tripped on a large seashell protruding from the sand.

"By the way…" Master Roshi said, hobbling back to where the pair was standing. He pointed at the boy. "Who is that kid?"

"Hm? Oh, this is Gohan!" Goku said proudly. "My son."

Master Roshi choked on his reply and instead a garbled "guwah!" came out of his mouth which had fallen open in shock.

"W-what?" Bulma gasped. "S-son!"

"Son?" Krillin echoed weakly. "Who'd have ever guessed?" Eyes bulging, his head snapped to Chi-Chi then slowly back to Goku. "So you two actually…"

"We what?"Goku asked curiously.

"Nothing!" Krillin said quickly. _'I mean…sure Goku is a little clueless, but of course he'd figure out at least __**that**__ part of marriage…'_

"Gohan, say hello." Goku said, gently pushing Gohan forward.

He bowed. "Hello. Nice to meet you." Everyone did the same, feeling charmed by the boy - particularly Bulma who found Gohan adorable.

"So is Gohan becoming a great fighter like you?" Krillin asked.

"No!" Chi-Chi broke in sternly. "I don't want him to be a brainless fighter!"

"Brainless fighter? Is that what you think of everyone who fights…?" Krillin murmured, looking at Chi-Chi with slight annoyance. "Why are you even bothering to train then…?"

"Oh…well," Bulma said hesitantly, leaning down so she was level with Gohan's head. "What do you want to be then, Gohan?"

"A great scientist!" He chirped.

"Scientist!" Bulma yelped. The little boy nodded.

"Yup!" He crept shyly behind his dad's leg.

Bulma looked at Goku. "Are you disappointed?"

He shrugged. "I can still train Gohan, so it doesn't really matter what he decides to be. His potential isn't bein' wasted at least."

"How old are you Gohan?"

"Um…" He counted on his fingers. "I'm four!" At the same time his tail flicked out.

"A TAIL!" Bulma shrieked. Gohan flinched back and Goku chuckled, patting his son's head.

"Yea, just like I used to."

The group looked first at Gohan, then at Goku and finally at Chi-Chi. "So…nothing…weird has happened?" Bulma asked hesitantly.

"Specifically during the _full moon_?" Krillin added fearfully.

Goku blinked, looking up thoughtfully. "Er…no? We usually sleep too early to see the moon anyway."

Everyone gave a sigh of relief.

"Why are you guys so interested in that?" Chi-Chi asked suspiciously. "Is there something we should know?"

"Nope!" Bulma said in a too-cheerful voice. She giggled to help cover up her lie and pinched Gohan's cheek. "You're so adorable!" Gohan blushed.

"Thank you." He said in a tiny voice.

"So polite too." She smiled. "A lot more well-mannered than your father, that's for sure."

"I've been teachin' him manners." Chi-Chi said. "After all, I don't want him to turn out as uncouth as his dad."

"Hah! Well I can't argue with your logic there." Bulma grinned. "I still can't believe he was able to land a girl with HIS manners. But then I suppose you two country bumpkins were just too perfect for each other."

"Country bumpkin?" Chi-Chi echoed indignantly. "I'm a princess!"

"Hey, hey you too, let's keep things friendly! It's a reunion!" Krillin said, holding his hands up in a peace gesture.

"Yea, we-" Goku suddenly quieted and snapped his head around to look into the sky.

"…Goku?" Chi-Chi frowned, noticing his tensed form. "What's wrong?"

Her husband's eyes narrowed. "I sense a huge power…" Chi-Chi's eyes widened when she noticed his body begin to noticeably tremble.

"Goku?" She repeated in a more urgent tone. She put a hand on his shoulder and pulled back, shocked. _'He's sweatin'…he's really nervous… just what's comin' this way?' _Chi-Chi nearly bit her tongue in shock when the enormous power signature slammed into her like a sledgehammer blow. "What is that?" She whispered.

"Shit…I've never sensed something like this before… Who is that coming from?" Krillin hissed.

Moments later, a tall, thickly muscled man with the longest, wildest hair Chi-Chi had ever seen, landed on the island before them. The man strode toward the group, eyes fixed on Goku. The stranger was clad in a strange black armor with dark orange shoulder and leg guards. He moved gracefully for one wearing such bulky-looking armor. Goku swiftly moved into a defensive stance, acutely aware of the danger the man presented.

"Kakarrot! I've finally found you! What kind of joke is this? Why have you not killed everyone on this planet!" The man demanded. "You received orders twenty years ago to destroy all life here! Even a weakling like you should have been able to accomplish that by now!"

Everyone stiffened in shock at the man's words. "Destroy the planet?" Goku echoed. He bared his teeth. "I don't know who you're lookin' for, but this Kaka- whatever guy isn't here. It sounds like he was into some real messed up work though."

"Don't play stupid. You think I don't recognize you? You look exactly like father!" He snarled. "Now explain yourself!"

"I have no idea what you're talkin' about." Goku said lowly.

"What the hell are you saying? _Kakarrot!_" His frown deepened when the blank look didn't disappear from Goku's face. "Damnit…" The stranger clenched his hands into tight fists and silently regarded him for a brief moment. "Could it be possible that you…? Shit." He hissed. "Hey! When you were a child, did you ever receive a massive blow to your head?" he demanded, pointing to his head.

"Why does that even matter?"

"TELL ME!" He bellowed.

"…I did. I don't remember it, but I was told that I fell and hit my head very hard when I was little." Goku admitted. "But why should it matter?"

"Shit… You really have lost all your memories then. You're a mess…and a true disgrace." He eyed Chi-Chi and Gohan with pronounced contempt. Noticing the man's line of vision, Goku's eyes narrowed and he shifted his footing so that his family was completely blocked from the stranger's sight. The man made a noise of disgust, shaking his head. "Fine, let me refresh your memory, starting with introductions. Your name is Kakarrot and you're not a human. You're a saiyan – a member of a proud, race of warriors who live for fighting."

"You've got to be joking. Why the hell would I believe somethin' like that?" Goku demanded.

"Simple, you have one of these, don't you?" The furry object that Goku had previously assumed was a belt unfurled itself from the man's waist.

"A tail!" Goku gasped. "Just like-" He gritted his teeth. "Then you're tellin' the truth?"

"Of course I-" His eyes darted about Goku's waist and widened when he detected nothing. "Kakarrot! What happened to your tail?"

"It was permanently removed years ago." Goku answered.

"You fool! It's our greatest source of power!" The man gave a snarl of disbelief. "It allows us to transform into our most powerful form! Our power is increased ten times in that state! You…You really did forget everything, didn't you! You completely failed to follow the simplest of orders, mutilated yourself, took a human as a mate, even sired a hybrid brat…" He spat. "Disgusting! How could a saiyan like you even exist?"

Goku's eyes narrowed. "It seems you're beginnin' to understand that I'm not interested in what you have to say to me. I'm no saiyan, I'm an earthlin'! And you have no say in my life!"

"Shut up insolent brat! How dare you speak to me in such a way? I'm Radditz! Your brother!"

"What!" Goku gasped.

"Brother!" Chi-Chi squeaked, still reeling from all the things she had learned about her husband. _'My brother in law! Gohan's uncle!' _

"Then it's true that Goku's not human!" Krillin yelped.

"No way…" Bulma shook her head. "It can't be…"

"…Somehow I get the feeling we shouldn't be that surprised." Roshi said weakly. "It does explain a few things…I mean, the tail and the turnin' into a giant monkey during the full moon? I thought it was all a little weird…"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**~o~o~o~**

**Author's Notes:**

Well, seeing as DBZ was given the shameless money-milking "remake" Dragonball Kai (no it's not really a remake… and it has some problems, but it's quite nice not waiting six episodes for someone to power up) I decided to make an AU fanfiction which gives the girls some more spotlight. This is a Chi-Chi-centric fanfiction and it's really all in the name of having fun.

That being said, I've always wondered why all the girls who are able to fight suddenly seemed fine with giving up everything else and doing housework and child-rearing for the rest of their lives, despite exhibiting adventurous personalities. Well okay, I never actually REALLY wondered, since it's just obvious that Toriyama is a product of Japanese society which is pretty damn sexist even today. I'm not joking either. It's a documented fact that in Japan, when a woman reaches a certain age she is expected to just drop her job, regardless of how much she loves it, get married, have children and become a full time housewife. It's horrific, how much pressure is put on women to conform to this life plan…

ANYWAY! Before this descends into angry ranting… Chi-Chi DOES actually express frustration from time to time at not being able to attend group get-togethers and her inability to be particularly helpful when her family is in danger. This fanfiction takes place in an alternate universe, wherein Chi-Chi decides to pursue martial arts despite starting a family with Goku. I will warn all of you now: while many events will coincide with those in the series, there will definitely be significant changes to the storyline – particularly much later. If this bothers you because you prefer to see the canon storyline in DBZ rewrites, I would press the back button now.

Also, please keep in mind that the opinions of the characters are not my own. Some of the characters may hold and express ideas that are offensive, but they are merely my interpretations of the characters. I'm not trying to make any political or life-changing statements here. I just want to entertain myself and my readers.

For the most part, I'll be using the Americanized names, but as a subtle nod to Dragonball's origins, I'll be using the Japanese order of names, so last names will come before first names when the characters introduce themselves, eg. Son Chi-Chi.


	2. The Dysfunctional Family

**Dragonball Divergence by TokiNabi**

**Disclaimer:**Dragonball, Z and GT belong to Akira Toriyama and Toei. Some of the dialogue and plot points in this fanfic are from the Dragonball manga. The rest however, is my own work. This is simply a work of fiction for fun and not for the purposes of profit.

**Chapter 02: The Dysfunctional Family**

**~o~o~o~**

"I don't believe it…" Bulma mumbled.

"I-I know…" Chi-Chi said dazedly. "All this-"

"Goku's an alien! You married an alien!" Bulma burst out. She gasped theatrically and pointed at Chi-Chi. "You _did it _with an alien!"

"Bulma! Now's not the time!" Chi-Chi snapped, although the same unsettling thoughts had just passed through her mind as well. Her cheeks reddened. _'Well…it's a little weird. …but I'm just glad it didn't affect our ability to have a kid together…Gohan's a sweetie. And so is Goku! So what if he is an alien?' _

"Kakarrot!" Radditz barked. "As low as you've fallen, you can still redeem yourself! I'm sure I could convince our prince to spare your life, should you complete your original mission as proof that you are a true saiyan."

Goku's frown deepened. "No thanks. I'm not interested." He replied curtly.

"Kakarrot!" Radditz snarled disbelievingly. "Listen to your brother-"

"I have no brother." Goku said with an immovable finality in his voice. "And there's no Kakarott here. I'm Son Goku! An earthlin'! I would never accept that kind of deal."

Radditz took a deep breath to calm himself. He didn't want to kill his brother – not if there was even the slightest chance he could change his mind about joining him. "You're a battle-hungry soldier Kakarrot. Even being raised by a group of peace-loving weaklings hasn't changed that. I can tell just by looking at you. You love fighting, hunger for it. It's in your blood. Don't deny it. The strength of the saiyans is renowned all over the universe! There are only a few of us left now, but we are stronger than you can imagine! However, even we would welcome another member to our small group. We need a little help with the next planet we plan to conquer and there are no other potential candidates trustworthy enough for us to ask."

He relaxed as he spoke, signaling that he would not attack for the time being. "The truth is that since a meteor collided with our planet and destroyed everyone on it including our mother and father, only four saiyans exist in the entire universe now, including you. You were lucky enough to be sent on a mission on the day our planet was obliterated. That fact alone may be enough for our prince to forgive you despite your failures here! Join us Kakarott. You may have a laughably small battle power, but that can be easily changed! You're only this weak because you've been raised amongst insects! Come! With you working with us, our jobs can be completed even faster. This is your chance to rejoin the race you were separated from! To gain access to power and riches you could never find on this puny little planet you've somehow become attached to. Do not deny yourself any longer! Join us in our glorious conquest of other planets for profit. It's the perfect life for a saiyan."

"H-how horrible…" Krillin hissed.

"Mommy…" Gohan whimpered, shuffling to Chi-Chi and grabbing her leg tightly. She pressed a reassuring hand on his head.

"It's okay honey." She whispered to her trembling son, keeping her eyes on Radditz. _'It's like I'm suddenly livin' in a movie. A long lost brother from another planet. Aliens in the family. Space pirates who want to wipe out the human race.' _Chi-Chi mentally shook herself. _'Focus.' _Concentrating, she extended her senses to gain a more accurate measurement of Radditz's power. She found herself feeling a little sick when she finished._ 'This man is too strong for any of us to fight…'_ Her eyes took in Goku's form from behind. _'He's tense… He knows his power too. He's not sure if he can beat him…but…' _She stroked Gohan's hair in what she hoped was a soothing manner. _'We have no choice. We have to beat him. There's no other option.'_

"You're disgustin'." Goku glared fiercely at his brother. "And I could never take pleasure in the sufferin' of others."

"Heh. You may look like father, but that's where the similarities end. Even your character is unbelievably weak. If father were alive, he would turn his face from you in shame." Radditz snorted.

"If he's anythin' like you, I wouldn't mind bein' called a disgrace by him. I'd take it as a compliment actually."

Radditz's eyes narrowed and the air around him wavered in the intense heat suddenly rising off body.

"Get back!" Goku ordered his friends.

"Ah, that won't do any good." And before anyone registered that the two had moved, Goku was in the air, eyes wide with disbelief. He crashed to the ground, clutching his stomach and hissing in pain. "Damnit…I couldn't even… sense his movements…so fast," he wheezed.

"Daddy!" Gohan wailed, letting go of his mother's leg to run to Goku. Chi-Chi quickly grabbed her son before he could get far and held his squirming form close.

"I can see that talking will do no good when it comes to you." Radditz remarked, looking down at Goku's crumpled form disdainfully. "But I'm flexible in matters of persuasion. That's why I'll be taking your son."

Goku's eyes shot open. "No-!" He feebly tried to force himself up. "Don't-" Radditz slammed his heel into his brother's chest, smashing him back down into the sand and forcing a choked grunt of pain from him.

"But don't worry. He's my nephew. I won't kill him," Radditz continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "That is, _if_ you kill one hundred earthlings in one earth day. Just pile the bodies here." He gestured casually at the island, his expression chillingly calm for a man threatening his brother to commit mass murder. "Do that and I will return your son. Relax Kakarrot, it's a mere handful of people. Big brother understands how hard it must be to start killing for the first time." He said with mock sympathy. "But I guarantee after the first few, you'll get the hang of it. You might even start to enjoy yourself, contrary to your expectations."

"Chi-Chi! Take Gohan and run!" Goku yelled.

"Don't even bother." Radditz chuckled as he turned and approached them. "You're even weaker than Kakarott and-" Chi-Chi whipped her palm out and released an energy beam that engulfed the saiyan's entire upper body.

"A direct hit!" Krillin exclaimed.

To everyone's shock, Radditz pushed through the attack as if it were fog. "You were planning to defeat me by blowing air in my face?" He sneered. Panicking, Chichi frantically sprang to her left, hoping to put some distance between them. Radditz easily moved into her path and before she could react, he snatched her son from her arms.

"Gohan!" She lunged for the crying boy.

Radditz grinned menacingly at the woman who had blindly dropped all her defenses in her haste to retrieve her son. "You should worry about yourself first, fool!" He snarled. The flash of intent in his eyes, bright with bloodlust, was her only warning. Chi-Chi swung her arms in front of herself to guard and narrowly prevented the saiyan's fist from smashing into her face. Her arms were knocked painfully against her eyes and she was thrown back headfirst into the water surrounding the island.

"You bastard!" Krillin launched himself at Radditz, only to receive a jaw-shattering blow across the face. His body skidded at high speeds across the island's sand, creating a long, gradually deepening furrow in the ground.

"Krillin!" Bulma's hands flew over her mouth in horror. "That guy's…a monster…" She whimpered, terror choking her. Roshi watched speechlessly, frustration at his helplessness burning torturously within him.

"Mommy!" Gohan sobbed, flailing helplessly in his captor's hold. "Let me go! Let me gooooo! You hurt her!" The mini green screen curving over Radditz's eye suddenly lit up the same time the boy kicked out blindly and unexpectedly landed a blow on his arm.

"Argh!" Radditz gave a shout of surprise, dropping Gohan who quickly scrambled to his father's side.

"G-gohan… run! Don't let him grab you again!" Goku hissed out. "I can't…protect you now."

"Daddy…no…I'm too scared. Please…" Gohan whimpered, shivering miserably. His tiny fingers desperately held onto his father's shirt sleeve.

"Gohan!" Goku tried to push the boy away and spur him to escape, but Gohan shook his head and gripped his father's gi more tightly.

"That kick …and the scouter's reading…" Radditz mumbled. He thoughtfully tapped the device attached to his ear, looking intently at Gohan. The number reading on the screen of his scouter fluctuated wildly for a brief moment, before finally settling on a single digit. _'1?'_ He frowned, tapping it again. _'That can't be right. That little brat's last kick suggested a higher power level.' _He shook his head. _'It doesn't matter. He's just a kid after all.'_ He walked toward the trembling child. "Come now. Why don't you go on a little trip with your uncle Radditz? If you come quietly, I won't have to hurt you."

"Run away, now!" Goku ordered Gohan, shakily rising to his feet and taking a few steps back to put distance between himself and his aggressor. The boy refused to move, clamoring around his heels. Goku winced, holding his still aching stomach. "That was some hit." He smiled grimly at Radditz. "Were you goin' easy on me?"

"I was actually. Despite your…shortcomings, I don't want to kill you Kakarrot. We are of the same blood after all."

"You sure have a funny way of showin' your affection." Goku retorted.

"Guh…" A short distance away, Chi-Chi pushed herself up from the sea, grimacing as she spit up salt water.

"Chi-Chi! You okay?" Bulma called out as the woman dragged herself back to land.

"Gohan…" She coughed. "Where's Gohan?"

"He's over there with Goku." Bulma pointed out the boy, clinging fearfully onto his father's pant leg. "He managed to get away from him."

Chi-Chi's expression remained forlorn. "I'm still too weak…I can't help him. Even after all that trainin'…I can't do anythin'…" She looked at the ground, frustration tearing mercilessly into her. _'Was it all just a waste of time?'_

"Damnit…Krillin is still unconscious?" Bulma demanded. Roshi nodded, having checked on the other man.

"He's lucky his neck wasn't snapped." Roshi reported solemnly. "I don't think he'll be getting up soon."

"Ooohh, this is awful!" Bulma wailed. "What are we supposed to do then!"

"We have to stay out of Goku's way." Roshi said sadly. "That's all we can do now."

Bulma bit her lip, unsatisfied with the answer, but unable to argue. Her eyes slid to woman beside her. "Chi-Chi, your arms!" She gasped.

"Huh?" Chi-Chi looked at her forearms and grimaced when she noticed the large dark bruises forming on them. "I'm fine. They're not broken." She turned back to the battle. _'Goku…'_

From his peripheral vision, Goku saw Chi-Chi join the others. He inwardly sighed with relief and returned his full attention to his opponent. _'This is bad…'_ Goku couldn't stop the slightly hysterical laugh from bubbling out of his mouth. _'I'm shakin' in my boots right now…I can't even get excited about this fight, 'cause I'm scared shitless.'_

"What's so funny Kakarrot?" Radditz asked snidely. "Does the fact that you're about to be in a lot of pain amuse you?"

He ignored the snide comment. "Gohan." The boy looked up, meeting his father's eyes. Goku patted his son's head. "Daddy's gotta fight this guy and I need to you stand back so I can use all my power."

"A-all of it?"

Goku nodded. "This guy's real tough, so I can't hold back. But to go all out, I can't be carryin' you while I'm fightin' him. Do you understand?"

The boy sniffled as he stared silently at his father and absorbed his request. He was terrified. Gohan had always thought his father was the strongest man in the world. It had been a sickening experience to learn that someone who was capable of hurting his father actually existed.

"Gohan." Goku simply smiled then and somehow Gohan felt as though everything would turn out all right. "I need you to be strong for me. K?"

"O-okay daddy." Gohan swallowed hard. "I'll be strong." He slowly let go of Goku's pant leg and shuffled back.

Goku smiled. "That's my boy." He faced Radditz again. "Leave everyone else out of this! This is between you and me!"

"Very well. I'll humour you with a match. Maybe having the reality of your weakness beaten into you will convince you to join me."

"I wouldn't bet on it." Goku muttered. He put on a confident smirk. "Want to give me a sec? I figure you'll want the fight to be a bit more interestin'."

"Heh. Take it. No matter what you do the result will be the same."

"Great." Goku pulled off his orange shirt and with a little effort, shed the dark blue shirt he had been wearing underneath. His wristbands and boots followed shortly after.

Radditz's eyes narrowed when a new number flashed across his scouter's screen. _'His power level increased by a hundred points…' _

"Ahh, that's better. K! Let's go!" Goku announced.

Radditz threw back his head and laughed. "That's it? You think that taking off a few measly weights will help you win against me? Why don't I make the situation clear for you? Even with that little power boost you gave yourself, I'm more than twice as strong as you!"

Goku's eyebrows went up. "Woo! That's pretty impressive." He spoke with more bravado than he felt.

"You'll see that for yourself. Now come at me little brother! I'll show you real power!"

"That suits me just fine!" Goku yelled as he charged. He attacked with a rapid combination of punches - all of which were easily dodged by Radditz, who suddenly disappeared. "Where-!" Goku's shout was cut off when the man reappeared behind him and shoved his elbow into his back, causing him to lose his balance and stumble forward.

"You're going to have to do better than that!" Radditz laughed, watching with mild interest when his brother quickly somersaulted to regain his balance and moved into a steady stance on his feet.

"Don't worry, I was just gettin' warmed up!"

"I'm glad to hear that!" Radditz jumped into the air and raised his arm. Red light emanated from the energy building in his palm.

Goku cupped his hands at his side in the characteristic pose of the kamehameha. Blue light illuminated the area, contrasting starkly against the red glow from above.

Radditz's eyes narrowed at the power level reading his scouter picked up. _'900…950…and still rising! Somehow he can concentrate his energy into a single spot! That little bastard is stronger than I gave him credit for.' _

"Everyone get down!" Roshi yelled.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi dashed away from the group and past Goku to grab her son.

"HAA!" Goku yelled, releasing his attack just as Radditz threw his. Their energies met violently, throwing out shockwaves in every direction from the point of collision.

"It's still not enough!" Radditz bellowed, pushing more energy into his attack. It swallowed up the kamehameha and Goku had barely enough time to curse before he was also enveloped by the fierce swell of energy.

**~o~o~o~**

_"Kakarrot." A man with a large scar running down his face stood behind the large window of the cold white room he was in. The man, whose face was similar – no, almost identical to his, gave a dismissive sigh of disgust. "A power level of two huh? Just an ordinary third class soldier then." _

_ "You have to admit he has quite the set of lungs on him! Listen to that boy cry! He'll take out all the room's windows if he keeps that up!" Another voice chuckled._

_ Exhausted from wailing, he quieted and slept._

_When he woke up, the same man from before was at the window again. This time, he had a striking deep red bandana tied on his head. "Kakarrot." The man murmured, unmindful of the blood spilling over his eyes. There was no disgust in his voice this time and he looked different somehow. He was still a battle-hardened soldier, but there was an edge of despair in his expression. "Live on. Grow and become strong. I will change your- all of our fates." _

_He shut his eyes. He couldn't recall falling asleep, but when he opened his eyes, sunlight, blue sky and a cheerful, aged face greeted him._

**~o~o~o~**

"Wake up little brother!" A punch that rattled his teeth yanked Goku back to consciousness. He immediately became aware of the large hand wrapped around his neck and the screaming pain in his skin. _'Radditz's attack must have fried me.'_ Goku realized. _'I can't believe I'm still alive.'_ He spit up the blood that had pooled in his mouth.

"Goku!" Chi-Chi shouted, her voice saturated with fear. Gohan, unable to watch, had his face pressed tightly against his mother's leg.

"Don't worry. I'll deal with you later." Radditz said over his shoulder. He turned back to Goku. "I have to say Kakarrot, I'm having a lot more fun than I expected to when I first came to this pathetic little planet. As a sign of my appreciation, I'll give you one more chance to change your mind. What do you say?"

"You're…wastin' your time." Goku wheezed, glaring at him. "My answer will always be no. I don't want to join scum like you."

Radditz laughed boisterously. "You're lucky I'm in too good a mood to kill you for saying that. I'm feeling creative. Maybe another hit to the head is all you need to return to your true self!" He grinned as he pulled back his fist again. Goku winced, waiting for the inevitable hit. When nothing happened, he cracked open an eye and blinked in surprise. Radditz was still poised as if to hit him, but appeared to be frozen. Trembling, he let out a gasp before falling forward.

"Arugh!" Goku howled in agony, when Radditz's body made contact with his severely burned skin.

"Sorry!" Chi-Chi's voice came from behind Radditz's hair which obscured Goku's vision. Radditz gave a yowl of pain and Goku took in a shaky breath as the saiyan's weight was lifted off him.

"You let your guard down." Chi-Chi said lowly, looking contemptuously at Radditz. "I've never seen anyone take so much pleasure in beatin' up their own little brother." She gave his tail a vicious squeeze, causing the man to cry out in pain.

"Y-you...how did you know about that weakness?" Radditz wheezed incredulously. He glared hatefully at Goku. "You damn fool…you told her?"

Chi-Chi gave a short, somewhat nasty laugh. "Nah. I found out by accident. It hurts lots when someone grabs your tail, doesn't it?"

"Chi-Chi…" Goku said with a hint of awe in his voice. He grinned weakly. "Playin' dirty?"

"He's more than four times stronger than me. Give me a break." She growled.

"I'm not…complainin'…" Goku chuckled.

"You bitch…let go of my tail!" Radditz snarled. Chi-Chi noticed with some satisfaction that even speaking seemed difficult for him now. "I'll kill you!"

Chi-Chi ignored the threat. "You shoulda just left while you had the chance. You may be Goku's brother, but after all the nasty things you've done, it'll only be through a miracle that you get out of here alive!"

Radditz merely chuckled. "W-what can you weaklings do? Kakarrot is the only one even remotely capable of killing me…even when I'm in this state." His eyes trailed to his brother's battered form. "And I doubt he'll be getting up any time soon…" He sniggered. "Not after the beating I gave him."

"Then allow me to have the pleasure of destroying you." Everyone's eyes darted to the sky, where the voice had come from.

"Piccolo!" Goku gasped.

"What are you doin' here?" Chi-Chi demanded, doing her best to conceal her rising fear. _'Why did he have to appear now of all times! Goku's too weak to defend himself, Gohan's completely unprotected, I'm stuck holdin' this guy's tail, Krillin is still unconscious and-!' _Chi-Chi took a deep breath to soothe her rapidly fraying nerves. _'This is a nightmare.'_ She focused and pushed her energy sensing skills to work at high sensitivity, keeping strict tabs on Radditz, Piccolo, Goku and Gohan's life-forces.

"I have a score to settle with that guy." Piccolo pointed at Radditz. ""I noticed his power signature stop near Son Goku's and figured I'd pay a visit as well."

"Where were you when Goku was gettin' beaten up?" Chi-Chi snarled.

Piccolo smirked. "Waiting for the right chance to strike. Evidently you found it before I did."

"Despicable demon…" Chi-Chi growled.

The words only seemed to please him. "Pleasantries aside, I hear you're looking for an exterminator."

"We might be." Chi-Chi said suspiciously. "But only for this guy here." She used her chin to gesture at Radditz, not wanting to risk taking even one of her hands off the ruthless man's tail. "You'd better leave Goku alone."

"Heh. I'll promise no such thing. You on the other hand have no choice but to go along with my offer. No one else can kill him at this moment and I'm sure you have no intention of holding that man by the tail until Son recovers."

Chi-Chi bit her lip. He was right. She couldn't just keep holding onto Radditz's tail until Goku healed, and nobody else besides Piccolo had enough power to take out the saiyan. But… She looked at Goku, concern pulling her brows together. Piccolo had pretty much admitted that he would kill her husband once he finished with Radditz.

"You sure you got enough in you to kill him?"

Chi-Chi jerked in surprise at the sound of her husband's voice.

Goku gave Piccolo his cockiest grin, acting as though he wasn't currently lying on the ground a bloody mess. "This guy says he's more than twice as strong as me."

"This'll be interesting then." Piccolo returned Goku's impertinent look with a smirk. "I originally wanted to use this move to kill you, but this way, I'll see how powerful it really is." Settling into a more grounded stance, he pressed his index and middle fingers together, folding the rest of his fingers down. Raising his hand, he placed the tips of his straightened fingers to his forehead. Golden energy crackled in the air around him.

Radditz's scouter flashed warningly. _'800…900…1000? And it's still rising! I'll be killed if I'm hit with that!' _"K-kakarrot…listen to me," Radditz called out. "Stop them and let me go! I didn't want to hurt anyone. I was just working under orders!"

"Shut up." Chi-Chi growled. "Anyone can tell that you're lyin' to save yourself."

"Kakarrot…please! Have mercy!" Radditz begged.

Goku had turned his head to look directly at Radditz and Chi-Chi could see that he was being swayed. "Don't listen to him Goku." She said angrily. "He's lyin'. A guy like him doesn't give a damn about anyone else except himself. He's sayin' all this 'cause he doesn't want to die. Before this, he was gonna kill all of us, our friends, you, me and even Gohan. He wasn't even sad about it, he was havin' _fun._"

"No, I had to do it! Please Kakarrot! Please help me…_brother!_"

Goku shuddered and shut his eyes. "Will you…will you promise to leave this planet forever?"

"Goku!" Chi-Chi cried out. "He's **lyin'**!"

"I will! I promise!" Radditz said desperately.

"…Let him go Chi-Chi."

"You can't be serious!" She cried out in disbelief.

"He gave his word. He's beggin' for his life. We can't just kill him now."

"Don't listen to him!" This time it was Piccolo who spoke. "If you let go of his tail, we're all dead!"

"Chi-Chi…" Her husband looked at her pleadingly.

"Shut up!" Piccolo snarled. "You're a soft hearted fool and you're going to get us all killed!"

"I…" Her hands trembled. "I'm sorry Goku." She shook her head. "I can't risk it." She looked away from him, not wanting to see the look of hurt and disappointment on his face. "Forgive me."

Realizing he wouldn't be freed, Radditz began to panic. _'If only I hadn't beaten him so badly! He would have been able to force the woman to let go of me!' _His quickening pulse drummed loudly in his ears. His eyes darted again to the dangerous power level reading on his scouter. "Damnit- I won't be killed…not by these pathetic life forms…not by these low class insects… Damnit I won't be killed like this!" Radditz bellowed. The next moments seemed to play out in slow motion. Surprising them all, the saiyan whipped around and with the edge of his hand glowing with concentrated energy, severed his own tail.

Chi-Chi gave a short gasp of shock as she stumbled back, eyes wide at the man's unexpected move. The now useless lump of flesh fell from her slackened hands. Radditz spun around, his face contorted with rage. He threw himself to his feet and without warning kicked Chi-Chi across the chest. Her cry of pain was reduced to a messy gurgle as blood spilled from her mouth. She felt the splinters of her tattered ribs push threateningly against soft organs they were meant to protect; felt the air yanked from her and everything flashed red then black.

"Chi-Chi!" Goku yelled.

"Mommy!" Gohan shrieked simultaneously. Father and son watched in horror as Chi-Chi's limp body crashed through the wall of Roshi's house.

"Special beam cannon!" Piccolo bellowed, pointing his fingers, crackling with barely reigned energy, at Radditz. Snarling, the saiyan dug his foot into the ground for support and barely leapt clear of the spiraling beam. The corkscrew of energy sailed into some distant mountains and to the shock of all the observers, obliterated them in an instant.

"He…he dodged it!" Piccolo gasped.

"Not bad. That would have done the job for sure." Radditz grinned, even while clutching a severely injured shoulder that hadn't quite escaped the attack.

"Shit…this just got complicated." Piccolo swiftly threw off his turban and wide-shouldered cape. Both items fell to the ground with a heavy thump, sending up large clouds of dust.

"No matter what you do, it's impossible for you to beat me." Radditz dusted off his armor. "But I have to admit, I really thought I was done for. You have an impressively cold-hearted mate Kakarrot. Or perhaps she simply sensed that I planned to kill her all along." He laughed, taking pleasure in Goku's look of horror.

"You…killed my mommy?" Gohan whimpered, his little body shaking violently.

"Gohan…get out of here." Wincing, Goku painfully pushed himself back to his feet.

"You…you killed her!" Gohan screamed, too overcome by rage to hear his father.

Radditz's eyes widened when his scouter beeped warningly. _' 1300! What is this kid?'_

"Go…han…?" Goku said hesitantly.

Everyone watched, transfixed by a mixture of shock and terror, as a harsh white light flared from Gohan's body.

**~o~o~o~**

_"Chi-Chi? Chi-Chi!"_

_ "…Daddy?" __The six year old girl rubbed her eyes groggily. "What happened?" She looked around and found herself in bed, covered by a thick quilt. Wincing at the dull headache beating away at her skull, she sat up. A pack of ice fell on her lap and noticing the chilled skin of her forehead, she guessed that the ice had been resting there before she got up. _

_ "I'm so sorry Chi-Chi, I hit you too hard!" Her dad fluttered over her, concern oozing from his hunched posture and hesitant movements. "You were doin' so well, dodgin' all my attacks, so I used a little more power than usual-"_

_ "It's okay daddy." Chi-Chi said brightly. "You didn't mean it." _

_ "I'm sorry Chi-Chi." He said again, face downcast. And this time the girl had the distinct feeling that her father wasn't apologizing for the hit. _

_ "It's okay." She said again, sure that even if she had known what her father had done wrong, she would have forgiven him anyway. He always seemed to be worried about and feel guilty over the smallest things. _

_ The Ox King pulled his daughter in a tight hug and Chi-Chi closed her eyes, pressing herself closer to the comforting bulk and warmth. "I'm sorry." He murmured again. "If I weren't the Ox King, if you were someone else's daughter…it wouldn't have to be like this. You could be an ordinary girl and do whatever you want."_

_ "What are you talkin' about?" Chi-Chi asked sleepily, soothed by the firm but gentle support of her father's arms. Her earliest memory of a hug was with these arms. Her mother had been carried away to heaven before Chi-Chi could make a lasting memory of being held by her. "I don't want another daddy. And you let me do everythin' I want." _

_ Her father chuckled and began stroking her hair affectionately. "You just don't know any other way to live. My poor girl…"_

_ "Do you regret marrying him?" _

_ Chi-Chi, twenty years old, spun around and found herself looking at Kami. She frowned. "Why're you askin' me this again? I already told you I don't! I don't care how much danger I'm in, I want to be with Goku!" She crossed her arms in the dignified, but aggressive way her tutors had taught her. It told whoever was looking that she had not been affected by her opponent's words, and that she would not be moved. "Nothin' you say will change my mind!"_

_ The old man looked at her gravely, eyes pitying. "Poor girl…" Chi-Chi felt something within her crumble at the familiar words. "You've been blessed with enough ignorance to be free of regret. I will ask you what I should have five years ago. What if Son Goku were to die?"_

_ She froze, breath catching and her confidently poised hands dropping limply at her sides. "What?"_

**~o~o~o~**

"Piccolo!" Goku shouted. "Do it now!"

"Stop it you fool!" Radditz screamed, thrashing madly in his brother's unforgiving hold. He winced when a flash of pain paralyzed his body. _'That damn brat…how could he have so much power? To be damaged so much by a single hit from a child…'_ He tried breaking free again, but his brother restrained all of his movements. Where had the weakling gained all this strength from? He was badly beaten, it should have been impossible for him to hold him. "You'll die too! Le-" The rest of his desperate pleadings was lost in Piccolo's roar as he released his attack.

The spiraling beam pierced through the two saiyans easily, swiftly carving a bloody path through their chests. They fell heavily, their blood scattered like glinting red confetti in the air.

Bulma shrieked, turning her eyes from the battle. Krillin, who had recently awakened, screamed Goku's name, already running to the fallen man's side. Roshi set his jaw, swallowing back the lump that had formed in his throat at the horrific sight.

Once the dust settled, Goku managed a weak laugh. "T-that…was real nice. You've been…trainin' diligently I see."

"Heh. You should have been doing the same." Piccolo smirked. "But I can't complain about the results."

"You all…will regret this…" Radditz hissed. Piccolo approached him, eyeing him critically.

"Doubtful. Even though Son Goku will die today, his friends will wish him back with the dragonballs. You will die alone."

"I…don't know what kind of shit you're talking…but this scouter I'm wearing…is a transmitter. My comrades…will have heard e-everything!" Radditz forced out through tightly clenched teeth. "I-If you thought I was strong…then you're in for a nasty surprise. Those two…are far stronger than I am. And they will be here…in a year…to kill all of you!"

Piccolo's eye twitched. _'The one time I decide to run my mouth about the dragonballs and I do it when two monstrously strong enemies are listening in.'_

Radditz laughed raucously, hacking up blood in the process. "Enjoy your last year alive worms! You'll be slaughtered when my friends arrive." And after giving one last faint chortle, his head slumped to one side and his chest fell, but did not rise.

"He's dead." Piccolo announced.

"It's too bad…he couldn't change." Goku coughed. Wincing from the pain and effort of it, he turned his head to look at Krillin who was kneeling at his side and holding tightly to his hand.

"Hold on Goku!" Krillin said, his voice tight with fear. "Help is already on its way!"

"T-thanks." In the corner of his vision, he saw Roshi check on Gohan. "H-hey…how's Gohan?"

"He's fine!" Roshi reported. "He's just unconscious. It's amazing, considering how hard Radditz hit him."

"Haha…I'm glad. A-and…Chi-Chi?" Goku rasped tiredly.

"Goku…" Bulma's voice echoed from the ruined kame house. She stumbled out and ran to his side. "She's alive. I've already called for a helicopter from the hospital…but she's in really bad shape."

"I see…ung…" He spit up some blood and chuckled wryly. "I hope…she's doin' better than me…cause…this dyin' stuff…is really awful."

"Don't talk like that!" Krillin cried out, keeping his eyes from trailing to the hole in Goku's chest and the blood pooling around him. "You'll be fine…come on Goku. This isn't like you, giving up so easily. What are we all gonna do if you die on us like this?"

"He's right! You can't just leave us! What about Gohan, and Chi-Chi too? They'll both be okay – I'm sure of it - and if you aren't here…ah, look what you've done!" Bulma pointed at her forehead which had become marred by wrinkle lines. "A beautiful young woman like me developing these lines already? It's your fault for stressing me out so much! Come on Goku! You can't die!" She pleaded.

Goku laughed again, more faintly this time. "Sorry… but I think this time…I really am…" The sky faded from his sight. He sighed, expelling his last breath of air. His thoughts flickered back to his wife. _'Don't die Chi-Chi.' _And he was gone.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**~o~o~o~**

**Author's Notes:**

Ahh, ended it on a somewhat angsty note! I'll try not to do that so much in the future as I do want this fanfic to have an overall light-hearted tone.

Fixed the spelling error – "Kakarott" to "Kakarrot" since as **Pu7o** pointed out, Goku's saiyan name is taken from the word "carrot."

With each update, I'll also be reposting re-edited versions of older chapters. They won't be big changes, so you won't have to go back and reread old chapters. If I do make any drastic tweaks, I'll mention it in my notes. I try not to post a chapter until I'm satisfied with it, but I tend to find things I want to change only after I publish a chapter, since that's the only thing that will make me leave the darn thing alone long enough to get some fresh perspective.

Oh, and it seems that I might have offended a few people with my mini-rant about Japanese society. I apologize if I did and I will plainly say here that I actually do love Japan. It's an amazing country to visit and I recommend anyone who has the time and money to take a trip there! Anyway, like any other society, it has some issues that I can't ignore. Japan isn't the only place with such issues however; every country in the world has some variant of sexism. I mean, don't even get me started on how bad (Stone-age anyone?) North America can be despite how much it presents itself as an 'equality for all!' sort of place.

And I agree with you to some extent **J.W. Appel**. Toriyama gets points for not portraying women as meek and quiet. He intentionally made all his female characters strong willed, assertive and aggressive because that's how he reportedly preferred them to be…but it's undeniable that they all couldn't escape the traditional "housewife" role in the end… Except for Bulma anyway, who has always kicked ass in my opinion. I'm ignoring the movies when I say this, since you see her washing dishes in movie thirteen, which is…well ridiculous because if you're capable of making robots to do it for you, or are rich enough to get hired help to do it, why do such a monotonous and tiresome task yourself? I highly doubt she would.

Big thanks to everyone who reviewed! I always feel so encouraged when I hear from my readers~ I'll do my best to answer all your questions in my "author's notes" section, but if you have a more complex question/suggestion, or just want to chat, visit my forum and drop a note! I'll reply as quickly as possible~


	3. Uneasy Acceptance

**Dragonball Divergence by TokiNabi**

**Disclaimer:**Dragonball, Z and GT belong to Akira Toriyama and Toei. Some of the dialogue and plot points in this fanfic are from the Dragonball manga. The rest however, is my own work. This is simply a work of fiction for fun and not for the purposes of profit.

**Chapter 03: Uneasy Acceptance**

**~o~o~o~**

"So he finally died." Piccolo remarked, looking expressionlessly at Goku's body. He frowned. Instead of feeling a rush of satisfaction, he found himself utterly disappointed. He had expected Son Goku's death to be a grand affair, with him decisively defeating Goku in a fight to the end. Not shooting a lethal attack at him as he stood in one place to restrain a common enemy. _'No matter. He'll be wished back. Once the saiyans are dealt with, we'll have our fight. As for now…' _His eyes fell on the unconscious Gohan, who was being tended to by Bulma.

"Goku…" Krillin whimpered, still holding onto his friend's hand even though he had long since departed from the living world.

"Krillin…" Roshi put a hand on the man's back. "I know it hurts, but we're goin' to wish him back. Right now, we have work to do."

Krillin nodded. Roshi saw him move his arm across his eyes and scrub furiously. "Okay. Let's go." He said in a choked up voice. "We should get Chi-Chi to the hospital…and then find the dragonballs as fast as we can."

"You do that." Piccolo said. Everyone whipped around and eyed him with a mixture of fear and loathing. "In the meantime I'll be taking the boy."

"What!" Roshi demanded. "Why?"

"Y-you can't do that!" Bulma added, clutching the boy closer. "Not without asking his mother!"

"I'm not asking anyone. I'm informing you all of my intentions. Pass the message along to his mother if she survives. I'm taking the boy to train him. His power will be of use to us when the saiyans arrive."

"But Chi-Chi will be livid!" Krillin yelped. "She'll kill us for letting you take her son!"

"That's your problem, not mine." Piccolo remarked. Having spoken, he pointed at Gohan and to everyone's surprise, the boy floated out of Bulma's hands to Piccolo. He tucked the boy under his arm. "If things go well, you'll see him again in a year." He blinked, his eyes looking past the others. An expression of surprise crossed his face. "Must be the old man's doing…" He murmured.

"What are you talking about?" Krillin asked, turning to follow Piccolo's line of vision. "Goku!" He gasped. There was empty space where his body had been. "Where did he go!"

"Kami probably summoned his body to the afterlife." Piccolo said. "The old man must have plans for him."

**~o~o~o~**

"Where am I?" Goku murmured, looking around with wide eyes. The last thing he could remember was lying on the warm sand of Roshi's island and staring up at some clouds in the sky as all feeling faded from his body. Now, it appeared that he was in some sort of lively office setting. Clad in formal suits, people with horns and varying skin tones that included purple, blue, yellow and red, walked briskly in, around and out of the room. A line of what appeared to be tiny clouds with wispy tail ends moved along and past Goku to the only desk in the room. The desk itself was as tall as a two story house and seated behind it was an equally immense man with blood red skin, wild black hair, a jagged beard of the same colour and two large horns: one on either side of his head. Goku wasn't sure if the horns belonged to the man or if they were part of his helmet though. Dressed in a respectable, blue business suit, the giant was flipping through a thick, weathered green book with red corners while murmuring to himself.

"You're at the check-in station in the afterlife."

Goku spun around to face the owner of the voice. "Kami! Wait- afterlife!" He yelped.

"Er…yes." Kami said, disgruntled by Goku's outburst. "When living beings die, their souls are brought here to be judged by King Yemma." He gestured respectfully at the giant man.

"Aren't you the guardian of earth?" Yemma's voice boomed. He had taken notice of the two newcomers standing at the foot of his desk merely chatting.

"Yes King Yemma." Kami said quickly. "I've come here to request that Son Goku be given permission to train with the Lord of Worlds: King Kai."

"The Lord of Worlds?" Goku echoed.

"Hm…well if he wishes." Yemma said thoughtfully, looking at his book. "But according to my records, this young man can go straight to heaven right now."

Goku straightened at the mention of 'heaven'. "Heeeey! Did a woman named Chi-Chi go through here recently?" He asked.

Kami choked in shock. "Amend your tone and speech!" He hissed. "King Yemma judges all the souls in the universe and deserves a great deal of respect!"

Yemma hardly seemed to mind Goku's casual manner. "Chi-Chi?" Hm…" He flipped through the pages of his book. "No. No one with that name has passed through here today."

Goku sighed with relief. "That's great news. Thanks! Oh! Then what about a man named Radditz?" He asked, oblivious to Kami's scandalized expression.

"Radditz? Oh, that man!" Yemma grinned. "Yes, he was quite the stubborn, rude fellow, but I was able to subdue him and send him off to hell!"

"Wow, really! You must be really strong!" Goku exclaimed excitedly. "Hey, Kami, I want to stay here and be trained by him!"

"Hush Goku." Kami whispered. "I'm trying to obtain permission for you to be trained by the great King Kai, who is even stronger than King Yemma."

"I heard that!" Yemma's voice boomed. "And I'll remember what you said when it's your turn to be judged by me!"

Panic swept across Kami's face. "Forgive me for my impertinence! I did not think my words would reach your large magnificent ears."

"Do stop kissing ass, guardian of earth…it's unbecoming and I was only joking." Yemma sighed. "It's so hard to find someone with a sense of humor these days…"

"Y-yes of course…" Kami said meekly.

"Anyway, go that way." Yemma pointed at a massive archway to his right. "One of my employees will take you to Snake Way – a road which you will have to run the entire length of to reach King Kai."

"Okay, thanks! Well…see you all in a year!" Goku called behind him as he ran out the door.

"Hn. Nice young man." Yemma commented.

**~o~o~o~**

"So how is she?" Bulma asked anxiously.

"She's lucky to be alive." The doctor said solemnly. "Her ribs look like a broken jigsaw puzzle and one of her lungs has multiple puncture wounds. It was only by some miracle that the other one is still intact. What did you say happened to her?"

Bulma, Krillin and Roshi were gathered in the sterile white hallway of the hospital Chi-Chi had been air-lifted to. The three looked at each other, silently deliberating on what would be the best excuse to explain their friend's condition.

"Well, er…" Krillin spoke up to break the silence without a clear idea of what he would say. He nervously ran a hand over his smooth head as he contemplated a credible excuse. He knew that the doctor wouldn't believe him if he told the truth.

"A house beam fell on her." Bulma said quickly. "It's a hazard of living on a tiny island – it's very susceptible to earthquakes."

"I see." The doctor frowned. "The rescue team didn't mention lifting a beam off Mrs. Son…"

"We all got together and lifted it off her before they came." Bulma lied smoothly.

"I see." The doctor said again, sounding bemused. "I suppose that explains it, though it's strange that-"

"Can we see her?" Bulma interrupted.

The doctor shook his head. "Mrs. Son's condition is still quite fragile, so I will have to ask you to come back again tomorrow if you wish to see her."

"What?" Bulma shrieked. "But we've been waiting here for hours! And you decide to tell us this NOW?"

"Come on Bulma." Roshi said, putting a hand on the livid woman's shoulder. "Besides, it'll give us time to figure out how to break the news about Gohan and Goku to Chi-Chi…"

Bulma and Krillin froze as they absorbed his words and then simultaneously shuddered fearfully.

"For our sakes, I hope Gohan is alright." Bulma groaned, feeling her eyebrows knit together from stress.

**~o~o~o~**

"Daddyyy!" Gohan wailed, running hysterically in circles.

"Shut up!" Piccolo snapped. Yelping in surprise and fear, Gohan stopped mid-run and quieted immediately. "That's better."

"Where's my daddy?" Gohan asked in a tiny, quivering voice.

"Your father's dead." Piccolo said coldly. "No one's coming to save you. You're stuck with me." Gohan whimpered and shrunk back in terror, tears building in his eyes. "You had better not start squalling again." Piccolo growled. "I'll snap your scrawny neck if you do!"

Terrified, the boy bit his lip and stifled a sob, hiccupping instead. "I-I thought you were a good man…y-you helped my mommy and daddy earlier, didn't you?"

"Wrong. I'm not good at all. I only helped them because we had a mutual enemy. The only reason I haven't killed _you_ already is because there are two stronger opponents coming to earth in a year. It's regrettable, but in order to defeat them I will need your power. So from now on I will be training you." Piccolo announced sternly, eyeing the tiny boy. _'I can't believe this runt is the most powerful being on this planet.'_

"Trainin'? Like stretches and stuff?" Gohan asked timidly.

"Heh. As I thought, you've been spoiled by that soft-hearted father of yours. Despite all the potential you have, it's all been untapped because of his inability to be cruel. Don't expect the same treatment from me. This year will be like hell for you, so you'd better be prepared!" He grinned, revealing wickedly sharp fangs.

Gohan resisted his sudden urge to throw up, certain that it would only make the huge green man angrier if he made a mess on his shoes. His widened eyes took in every detail of the man, pausing at his bared fangs and long, lethal-looking claws. He swallowed hard. '_Mommy. Daddy. Save me!' _

**~o~o~o~**

"…Gohan." Chi-Chi mumbled. Her eyes flew open and her body spasmed painfully at her quick intake of breath. "Ow!" She winced, quickly relaxing her body in an attempt to alleviate the sharp pains shooting through her chest. Blinking drowsily, she gazed at her surroundings. White walls. Tubes. IV bags. Small beds with short steel bars on either side of them and white sheets. TVs attached to the ceiling in front of the beds. A cool breeze wafted in through an open window at the far wall to her left. _'I'm in a hospital.'_

She scanned the other beds, but other than two slumbering patients she had never seen before, the room was empty. _'Where are Gohan and Goku?' _Her stomach twisted with worry when she didn't see either of the two in the room with her. Maybe Gohan had escaped without a scratch and hadn't needed a trip to the hospital. But Goku had definitely needed to go to the hospital for his wounds. '_Unless…' _She shook her head. _'Don't think like that. He could just be in another room.'_

She focused her thoughts on herself tiredly she assessed as much of herself as she could see without a mirror. Her eyes immediately gravitated to her wrist, into which a needle tipped tube had been inserted. _'Goku would have a coronary if he saw this.'_ She giggled at the thought and regretted it when a fresh wave of pain swept through her.

A knock sounded at the door and Chi-Chi turned her head to look at who was coming in.

"Mrs. Son, you have visitors." A nurse said in an all too-cheerful voice. Behind her, Roshi, Bulma, Krillin and to Chi-Chi's surprise Yajirobe shuffled into the room. Her heart dropped when she saw no sign of Gohan.

"Hey Chi-Chi." Bulma spoke up first. "How are you doing?"

"I'm feelin' okay." She lied. "…Where's Gohan?" Her eyes narrowed when the group exchanged looks of barely repressed panic.

"Um…before we get into that…here, I bought you some fresh clothes. Yours were ruined in the fight…" Bulma said as she handed a simple pair of jeans and white shirt to Chi-Chi who blinked in surprise at the gift.

"Oh-! Thank you. How much-?"

Bulma waved away Chi-Chi's question. "Forget about it. And-" Bulma added. She looked behind her. "Hey Yajirobe, give me a senzu."

"Yeah, yeah…" Although visibly annoyed, the man immediately complied to her demand.

"Here Chi-Chi, a senzu bean." Bulma said, hoping she could prolong the peace that would inevitably be shattered once they informed Chi-Chi about what had happened to Goku and Gohan. "We bumped into Yajirobe on the way here and he had some on him." After glancing at Chi-Chi for a moment, she shook her head. "Here, don't move, just let me-" Quickly discouraging the woman's attempts to grab the senzu for herself, Bulma swiftly and gently pushed the green seed into Chi-Chi's mouth.

Chi-Chi chewed the hard bean with some difficulty. Once she swallowed, she found herself marveling at the instantaneous healing effects of the senzu. "Amazin'…" She murmured as she gingerly sat up and pressed at the previously injured areas of her body. She carefully pulled out the IV needle and set it on the desk by her bed. "Now then, where's Gohan?" She asked. "And Goku?"

The group before her went silent again and Chi-Chi forced herself not to panic then and there. Setting her jaw, she did what she always did when she couldn't afford to melt down during a crisis. She stomped on her fear and became angry. "Just tell me." She said through tightly gritted teeth. "What happened while I was unconscious? Where's Gohan!" She demanded. "Is he okay?"

"…He's safe as far as we know." Roshi said, stepping forward after another moment of silence. "He's with Piccolo."

"What!" Chi-Chi shrieked. "Piccolo! How did my baby end up with that monster!" Feeling faint, she grasped the metal sidebar of her bed. "How could such a thing happen? W-why did he take him in the first place?"

"He said he wanted to train Gohan to help fight the saiyans." Roshi explained.

"Wait-" Chi-Chi put a hand to her head. "There's too many things goin' on here- First off, what do you mean help fight the saiyans? There's more comin'?"

Roshi nodded gravely. "There's two of them and they're comin' in a year. Apparently they're a heck of a lot stronger than Radditz was."

"Stronger than…" Chi-Chi stared at him in disbelief, expression grim. "Then Piccolo's joinin' this fight 'cause he doesn't want anyone else takin' over the world except himself. That still doesn't answer why he decided it would be a good idea to kidnap Gohan and train him."

"You were unconscious when it happened." Roshi said. "But it was like nothin' I'd ever seen before. After you were hit, Gohan lost his temper and revealed an unbelievable power that was hidden within him. He severely injured Radditz with one hit."

"Gohan did?" Chi-Chi gasped. "I already knew about Gohan's strength, but I didn't think he was this powerful… Then what about Goku?"

"He's…he's dead." Krillin admitted miserably. "I'm sorry." He bowed his head, expression guilty. "None of us could do anything except watch…"

Chi-Chi's breath caught. "Dead?" She whispered. Her bottom lip began to tremble. "H-how?"

"After being hit, Radditz tried to kill Gohan who had fallen unconscious. Goku grabbed him before he could do anything and held him still long enough for Piccolo to charge his attack and…"

"Piccolo killed both of them…" Chi-Chi finished, devastated.

"Chi-Chi? Are you okay?" Bulma asked tentatively.

"I woke up to find my husband dead and my son in the hands of the psycho who killed my husband! How do you think I feel!" Chi-Chi snapped.

Bulma flinched back, looking hurt. "…Sorry." Chi-Chi said miserably, sagging back against her pillows. "It wasn't your fault…I'm just… I couldn't do anythin'. All it took was one kick to knock me out and I woke up and found everythin' a mess…" She quickly wiped her eyes and sniffled loudly.

"Chi-Chi…" Bulma put a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I'll be okay. Just give me a minute…" Chi-Chi mumbled, turning away from her visitors.

"So how did you know we were going to this hospital in the first place Yajirobe?" Bulma asked suddenly, wanting to change the subject for Chi-Chi's benefit. "I mean, it wasn't a coincidence that you ran into us, right?"

Yajirobe shook his head. "'Course not. Korin knows about everything that happened. He asked me to find you guys and deliver a message from Kami." Yajirobe said. "He wants everyone who can fight to come to the top of his tower to receive training. That includes you too Chi-Chi."

"Me too?" Chi-Chi looked at him, startled.

"Yeah. I was surprised too, but he said we'd need all the help we could get." Ignoring Chi-Chi's glare, Yajirobe turned to the others. "As for you guys, Kami wants you to look for the dragonballs. He doesn't want you to wish Goku back until just before the saiyans come though. Goku's getting special training in the afterlife."

"Really?" Chi-Chi perked up, looking mildly cheered. "I wonder if it's goin' well?" She wondered out loud.

**~o~o~o~**

Standing on Snake Way, Goku solemnly surveyed the curving road ahead of him. It trailed far into the distance, most of it obscured by fluffy white clouds. Its tail end was nowhere in sight. Sighing, he picked up his feet and continued his run.

**~o~o~o~**

"Well that's all." Yajirobe finished. "I'm gonna go now. I gotta find Yamcha and Tenshinhan to tell them the news."

"I'll tell Yamcha." Bulma said. "I was going to talk to him later anyway."

"Good. That makes things easier." Yajirobe remarked as he turned to leave. "See ya."

"That Yajirobe still hasn't learned any manners." Bulma said disapprovingly, shaking her head. "Leaving so suddenly like that with barely a word…"

"I'm goin' to find him." Chi-Chi said abruptly, standing up.

"Hm?" Bulma looked at her. "-Hey!" She yelped when the woman pushed her, Roshi and Krillin back. "What are you- oh." She said when Chi-Chi drew the large blue curtains around her bed closed for privacy. The sound of clothes rustling filled the room. Bulma glared threateningly at Roshi when the old man inched closer to the edge of the curtain.

"I'm goin' to find Piccolo and get Gohan back from him." Chi-Chi said from behind the curtain as she got dressed.

"What!" Bulma, Roshi and Krillin chorused in disbelief.

"Wait- think about this first… this is PICCOLO we're talking about!" Krillin said in a high pitched voice. "He'll KILL you!"

Chi-Chi yanked open the curtain and stepped out. "He won't…at least I don't think he will. He'll be countin' on there bein' as many of us as possible fightin' against the saiyans."

"Still!" Bulma grabbed her arm and looked straight into her eyes. "He might hurt you! You're not anywhere near strong enough to beat him! He killed Goku AND his monstrously strong brother in like a second! How do you think you'll get Gohan away from a guy like that?"

"I don't know." Chi-Chi said. "But I have to try anyway. I don't want Gohan anywhere near Piccolo. Even if I do get hurt, I can't just sit back and let that monster keep my son." She gently pulled her arm from Bulma's grasp. "Anyway, you guys have other things you need to worry about – like findin' the dragonballs, remember? I'll be goin' now. Bye." And before anymore protests could be made, Chi-Chi ran to the room's window and flew out.

"Agh! She's just as bad as Goku sometimes!" Bulma complained, throwing her arms up in the air. "How am I supposed to explain this to the hospital staff? I shouldn't have gotten those clothes for her! Maybe then she wouldn't have flown off like that!"

"Something tells me she would have gone anyway." Krillin murmured. Roshi nodded in agreement.

**~o~o~o~**

"So that's the story." Yajirobe said, sweating profusely in the desert heat. _'What kind of crazy people decide to live in the desert anyway?'_ "You guys coming?"

"Trainin'?" Launch asked, flipping her long, curly blond hair. "Well I guess there's no helpin' it if it's to stop the end of the world. I'd have to be a real crazy bitch to get in the way of that." She looked at Tenshinhan. "I'll leave you alone 'til this business with the saiyans is taken care of. It's been a while since I've seen Bulma and the others anyway."

Tenshinhan smiled. "Thank you Launch." He nodded at Yajirobe. "Chaotsu and I will go."

"You two had better train your asses off and beat the shit outta those aliens!" Launch declared. "And don't think dying'll get you off the hook with me! Alive or dead I'll always find some way to be a thorn in your side!" She punched Tenshinhan in the arm, grinning at his reddening face. "You too bud, it wouldn't be the same without you." She said, looking at Chaotsu who smiled in response.

A wind shimmering with dust swept through the area. Launch's nose twitched and despite her attempts to prevent it, she sneezed. "Wah! What's going on?" She asked in a saccharine voice, brushing away some of her dark blue hair which had fallen over her eyes when she sneezed. "Why are we all outside? Are we going on a trip?"

"Tenshinhan and I are leaving to get training from Kami." Chaotsu informed her, barely fazed by the girl's abrupt transformation. "Some aliens are coming in a year to try and destroy the earth."

"Oh dear! That's terrible! And why wasn't I told this earlier? I could have made you both a special going away present!" She clasped her hands in front of her in mild distress. "Or at least a full meal to take with you!"

"That's okay. We're in a hurry." Tenshinhan said quickly, recalling the previous night's dinner disaster. Like her personality, Launch's culinary skills fluctuated, and how well or awful her meals turned out was usually a matter of luck. Chaotsu had mentioned that it was only when Launch was distracted that her meals turned horribly wrong. Fighting back a blush, Tenshinhan supposed the explanation made sense considering what had almost happened just before Launch accidentally tipped half a bottle of cooking wine into a wok full of hot oil rather than the pot beside it. No one had gotten hurt, but the stove would have to be replaced. They had ended up opting for a simpler fire-cooked meal which Tenshinhan took care of amidst Launch's many apologies. "Anyway, we'll be going now…bye." Tenshinhan awkwardly waved at her as he left with Yajirobe.

"See you Launch." Chaotsu said, also waving as he followed.

"See you! Be careful!" Launch sighed wistfully. _'Come back safe you two.' _

**~o~o~o~**

By the time Chi-Chi had pinpointed Piccolo's energy signature and arrived at his location, night had fallen. She would have preferred to simply take Gohan away from wherever he had been left, but she couldn't sense him. She pushed back the horrifying possibilities that came to her mind of why she wasn't able to sense her own son's life force. _'Don't jump to the worst conclusions! Piccolo doesn't want to kill Gohan. Gohan might just be sleeping, or still weak from the fight.'_

She didn't bother to mask her own energy as she approached. She needed to know Gohan's whereabouts from Piccolo, and she was sure she wouldn't find anything out by attacking him and getting knocked out or killed by his retaliation. As far Chi-Chi knew, Piccolo was at least as strong as Goku, perhaps stronger if he had been able to kill both him and Radditz. She had nothing she could use effectively against him, not even if she used every single ounce of power within her body. _'But…hopefully it won't come to that.'_

She took a deep breath to calm herself as she neared the man. He seemed to be absorbed in thought, as he wasn't moving an inch. Despite his seemingly relaxed posture, Chi-Chi kept her guard up. When she deemed herself near enough to be heard, she spoke. "Piccolo! Where's my son?" She demanded.

He turned, giving her a bored look. "Oh, it's the mother. I thought you were an injured animal with all the noise you were making coming here."

Her eyes narrowed. "Where. Is. Gohan?" She growled, drawing out each syllable.

"Training." Piccolo answered nonchalantly.

"Give him back."

"He's not done."

"I didn't give you permission to take him."

"I didn't ask for it."

Chi-Chi's last thread of patience snapped. "You bastard!" She lunged at Piccolo, fury clouding every rational thought. The next thing she knew, her arm was twisted behind her back and she was eating dirt, courtesy of Piccolo who was holding her down with only one hand.

"If you have time to come here and get your ass kicked by me, you might as well go get training from the old geezer in the sky." Piccolo sneered down at her. "As it is, you're only going to be an easy target for the saiyans."

"Shut…up…" Chi-Chi hissed, doing her best to ignore the screaming pain in her arm and shoulder. "I'm not leavin' 'til you give me Gohan." She struggled fruitlessly against his hold and sucked in a quick breath when he yanked her arm up a few more inches. She stilled, wondering if her arm was still in its socket.

"Don't waste your time. Your son's the only real hope this planet has for survival when the saiyans arrive. If you think I'm going to hand him over just because his mommy asked, you'd better get your head checked."

"He's only four!"

Piccolo smirked. "Am I supposed to care? You may have been too blind to notice, but your son is even more powerful than his father. If you had trained him earlier, he could have easily defeated Radditz on his own."

Chi-Chi shook her head. "You're…you're lyin'. Gohan is strong, but he was almost killed by that man."

A growl of exasperation escaped Piccolo. "Your son is two, maybe three times stronger than Goku was. The only reason he was nearly killed is that he has no control over his power."

"But that's-!"

"Be quiet!" Piccolo snarled. He squeezed her arm threateningly to silence any other interruptions she might have made. "Now listen and listen well. Had you taught your son to be anything other than a spoiled brat, Goku wouldn't have had to die!"

Chi-Chi choked and she bit her lip harshly to keep herself from bursting into tears. His words hurt, especially because she knew they were true. She had been the one dead set against Gohan getting any serious training. She recalled with humiliation, how she had proudly told Kami that she would be the one to help Goku protect their family. _'Instead I ended up doin' the opposite.' _She hadn't wanted to admit it, but it was her fault that Goku died.

She closed her eyes. _'I can't be so blindly conceited anymore. It's okay to worry, but I can't ignore the fact that with trainin', Gohan can protect himself better than I ever could. And,' _She thought, all too aware of the unrelentingly cruel grip on her arm,_ 'All I can do is accept Piccolo's decision._ _He's not like Goku. He's not gonna give in to my demands just 'cause I scream at him. He doesn't care about what I want or feel, or even if I live or die. All things considerin' it's lucky that he's only interested in trainin' Gohan right now.' _She exhaled loudly, her tensed shoulders drooping.

"Promise me you won't hurt my son." She said lowly. The words left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Sensing that the woman had finally calmed down, Piccolo released her and stepped back as she scrambled up, rubbing her wrist while giving him a fierce hateful look. "Heh, I'm not guaranteeing anything of the sort…but he's strong enough to withstand the training he will receive. There's no point otherwise."

Suppressing a wave of anger, Chi-Chi sighed in resignation and stepped back, knowing that Piccolo wouldn't give her anymore reassurances. "Fine. I'll leave Gohan with you for now." She turned to leave, but paused just before taking off. "But…if you give him more than he can handle, you'd better prepare yourself for the worst. Regardless of how much stronger you are than me, I'll find some way to make you suffer if you hurt Gohan!"

Piccolo smirked. "Why don't you save some of that bloodlust for the saiyans? Weak as you are, you'll need it."

Chi-Chi gave him one last glare as she took off into the sky.

**~o~o~o~**

"Kami, how long will you stand out here?" Popo asked, his thick hands clasped in front of him. A cold wind jostled his baggy white pants and red vest. "It's quite late already and you should be resting."

The old man smiled knowingly. "In a moment Mr. Popo. I'm expecting a visitor."

"A visitor?" Popo blinked. "Who?"

"The last member of the group I invited up here." Kami nodded in approval when he saw a head rise up from the edge of his lookout.

"Phew." Chi-Chi breathed. "Climbin' up here took a lot longer than I expected."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**~o~o~o~**

**Author's Notes**

So ends a relatively mundane chapter. Ah well, it can't be helped, what with this being a connector between major arcs. Regardless, I hope it was enjoyable.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed!

Thanks to **J.W. Appel **for your reviews and ideas! Roshi's buff form on Chi-Chi would be more in the area of slapstick though, so apologies, but I don't think I'll be using that particular idea.

So I've been marathoning the old Dragonball series from the beginning. I have to say, it's better than Dragonball Z. There's actual dialogue! There's adventures! No ridiculously long power ups and a task gets done in an episode or three at the very most! Not to mention kid Goku is ADORABLE and easier to relate to than adult Goku in my opinion. They're not actually that different, but kid Goku just seems to enjoy all the aspects of life more than he does as an adult (at which point he becomes obsessed with only fighting.) Not that Dragonball Z wasn't fun, but all the yelling and waiting while people took ten episodes to power up…well it gets old pretty quickly.

Anyway, where I'm going with this is that I'll probably be drawing more from Dragonball than Dragonball Z for Goku's character. There's a lot more to work with for one and as I mentioned earlier, he's just more endearing that way.

Oh, and it's really sad that Launch disappeared in DBZ. She is _awesome._


	4. Before the Alien Invasion

**Dragonball Divergence by TokiNabi**

**Disclaimer: **Dragonball, Z and GT belong to Akira Toriyama and Toei. Some of the dialogue and plot points in this fanfic are from the Dragonball manga. The rest however, is my own work. This is simply a work of fiction for fun and not for the purposes of profit.

**Chapter 04: Before the Alien Invasion**

**~o~o~o~**

"Welcome Son Chi-Chi." Kami smiled. "You have arrived somewhat later than I expected."

Once she was standing on the lookout, Chi-Chi jogged to Kami and bowed in greeting. "Hello. I'm sorry for not comin' right away. I had to figure out some things before I came here…and I had to stop by my house to pick up some necessities." She gestured at the bag she had slung over her shoulder.

Kami nodded. "I understand." Chi-Chi squirmed a little under his calm look, uncomfortably certain that the man was in fact, quite well aware of what she had been up to before coming to the lookout. _'Just tell him. He's Kami. There's no point in hidin' what happened from him 'cause he probably already knows.'_

"I…" Chi-Chi began. "I had a chat with Piccolo."

"Oh dear-" Mr. Popo's eyes widened. Kami's face remained unchanged by the news.

"And were you satisfied with the result of the conversation?"

Chi-Chi didn't answer for a moment. "I…wasn't happy…but it needed to happen." She finally said. "Everythin' in me wants to reject what I decided but…I can't deny that it makes sense. I gotta let things be the way they are- for now."

Kami nodded. "I'm sorry you were forced to accept such a dismaying arrangement." He said gently. "However, if it is of any consolation, I truly believe that Piccolo will not kill or seriously harm your child- not while the saiyans pose a threat to the earth."

"I hope so." Chi-Chi said softly, unable to take solace in the man's words.

He cleared his throat. "Well Chi-Chi, please follow Mr. Popo now. He will lead you to your room. It is quite late and you must be exhausted from your experiences today. Tomorrow, you will need to be at full strength to participate in the training regiment I have prepared."

"Okay." Chi-Chi said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"This way." Popo said, gesturing in the direction of Kami's palace. Nodding, Chi-Chi followed the short, stout man.

"So everyone's already here?" Chi-Chi asked curiously.

"Oh yes. They were all quite eager to begin training immediately."

"I see. Um…" Chi-Chi began hesitantly. "Am I the only woman up here?"

"Watch your step here-" Chi-Chi consciously lifted her foot a bit higher for the set of stairs Popo had led her to. "Yes, but I assure you nothing untoward will happen during your stay. The others are staying on the other side of the palace and should have no reason to come this way." Popo explained as they ascended the steps.

She blushed. "No! I wasn't goin' to ask about that… I…well that's good to know, but… I-" She stuttered in embarrassment. "I mean…there really aren't any other women who can fight?"

"Not with the level of ability and potential required." Popo answered. "It is quite unfortunate, but many capable female warriors are not readily encouraged to excel in the art of fighting. Moreover, it is quite rare to find humans with an exceptional combat power in the first place."

"Oh." Chi-Chi sighed. It was a little disheartening to know that she wouldn't have any female company for the next year or so, but she supposed she wouldn't have time for socializing anyway. _'Just like bein' at home I guess.'_ She mused. _'No girls and just a lot of work to do. Not that I didn't enjoy myself, but it would have been nice if…' _She shook her head. There was no time to be disappointed over things that didn't happen.

"This will be your room." Popo opened the first door in a long white hallway with many doors.

"Thank you." Chi-Chi said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Once she had entered her room, Chi-Chi closed the door behind her and glanced around. It was a sparsely decorated white room with only a little window, simple bed and desk. On the desk sat a small glass pot filled with glossy multi-colored stones and water. Rooted in the smooth stones was a tiny plant adorned with long slim leaves. _'Bamboo. A symbol of longevity.'_ Chi-Chi recalled one of her tutors telling her about the plant's significance. _'I hope it rubs off on me.' _

Near the bed, was another door which led into a tiny bathroom with a sink and frosted glass booth for showering. Gratefully, Chi-Chi dropped all her things just outside the door and walked into the washroom, fully intent on a hot shower. She was sweaty, stressed and though it seemed a lot longer, it had only been about a day since her encounter with Radditz and she could still smell traces of blood and sea water on herself.

After turning the knob for the shower, Chi-Chi stepped into the spray of water. As streams of hot water ran down her skin and steam rose around her, she allowed herself to think about the events that had transpired before her arrival to the lookout. _'Gohan. I hope you're okay.'_

"_Had you taught your son to be anything other than a spoiled brat, Goku wouldn't have had to die!" _

Chi-Chi flinched at the unintentional recollection of Piccolo's harsh words. The realization was still painful, like a blade running into her chest. It was also humiliating to admit that she had been wrong and that her mistake had cost Goku his life- had nearly cost them all their lives. She felt a pang of guilt. What did Goku think of her now? Was he angry with her for forcing him to forgo putting Gohan through serious training? _'No. he wouldn't be mad about somethin' like that. He'd just chock his death up to him not bein' strong enough. Goku's probably up there now, gettin' all excited about becomin' stronger, workin' himself to the bone and lovin' every minute of it.'_ She wiped her face, eyes narrowing in determination. _'And I'm gonna do the same too!'_

"Goku…" Chi-Chi sighed wistfully. "How are you? Trainin' hard? I bet you're havin' lots of fun right now."

**~o~o~o~**

"Will this road never end!" Goku shouted. His voice echoed far into the empty air. He fell onto his back, groaning with exasperation and hunger. He stared listlessly at the sky. "I wonder how everyone else is doin'?" His stomach growled. "I'm so hungry…" He whined. Goku sighed. "bein' dead hasn't been that great so far…" Yawning, he stretched out his arms and legs over the road. _'Might as well take a nap and get my strength back.'_

**~o~o~o~**

"_I wonder if it's a boy or girl." Chi-Chi said softly as she tenderly stroked her rounded stomach._

"_I can't wait either way!" Goku said, hovering above her and looking excitedly at her belly. "I wonder if it'll be really strong?"_

"_Goku!" Chi-Chi scolded. "Is that the only thing you can think of?"_

_He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well it's not the __**only **_thing…"

"_But it's what you think most often of." Chi-Chi sighed, finishing his sentence for him. "Honestly- Ah!" She winced, hunching over and clutching her stomach. _

"_What's wrong?" Goku demanded. "Are you okay?" To his surprise, she giggled in response. "…Chi-Chi?" He said again uncertainly. _

"_I'm okay- better than okay!" _

"_But…"_

_She smiled in that brilliant way he liked and grabbed his hand. "Feel!" She pulled him down so he was sitting next to her on their couch and placed his hand against her stomach._

"_Feel what?" He asked curiously. A moment passed and suddenly something seemed to bump against his palm. "Wah! Was that the baby?" He yelped. _

_Chi-Chi nodded, laughter bubbling from her lips. Goku's flabbergasted expression was priceless. "Yeah. That's our baby. And from the feel of that kick, I'd say our baby is __**very**__ strong, just like its daddy." _

_He stared at her for a moment, wondering if she was having another mood swing. Only a minute ago, she had been scolding him for hoping that their kid would be powerful. But the look she was giving him now said she was genuinely happy about their child being strong. A wide smile broke across his face. Goku knew that little by little, Chi-Chi was changing from the stiff, spoiled princess she once was. At the same time he was changing a little too, from the wild, selfish boy he once was. And somehow all of it was because he was with Chi-Chi. "Then, I hope it's as amazin' as its mommy." _

"_Goku…" Chi-Chi said, surprised and touched at the same time. Eyes soft, she took his face into her hands and pressed a tender kiss to his mouth. _

**~o~o~o~**

Shifting and mumbling incoherently, Goku rolled onto his side in his sleep. A smile crept across his face as memories of his family floated through his dreams.

**~o~o~o~**

The next morning, Chi-Chi was awakened by a knock at her room's door. "Yes?" She called out groggily. _'What time is it?'_ Her eyes strayed to the window. A thin, gleaming golden line on the horizon was all that was visible of the sun. She groaned.

"Ms. Chi-Chi?" It was Popo's voice behind the door. "Please come downstairs. Breakfast has already been served and the others will be there as well shortly."

"Alright, I'll be there soon!" Chi-Chi said, leaping out of bed. She rushed to the washroom to get cleaned up. Once she had finished, she quickly opened her bag and pulled out a dark blue shirt with white lining on its edges and two long red fabric button hooks on the right chest area. The shirt was reminiscent of the dress-like uniform she had worn during her first world martial arts tournament. The difference was that the long skirt flaps had been trimmed so that only six inches of fabric hung below the red waist sash of the outfit. Chi-Chi had altered her outfit after a particularly difficult sparring session with Goku.

**~o~o~o~**

_Letting out a loud battle cry, Chi-Chi spun on her left foot to deliver a back kick. Anticipating the move, Goku speedily shuffled back only enough to barely dodge the attack. The wind generated by the spin caused Chi-Chi's skirt flaps to sweep into the air. Goku snatched an airborne skirt and threw Chi-Chi, who shrieked as she was pitched roughly into the ground. _

_Groaning, Chi-Chi pushed herself up and dusted herself off. "Goku! That's the fifth time today!" She snapped as she picked a leaf from her hair. _

"_Gee, sorry…but you keep swingin' your skirt at me and givin' me opportunities to throw you." _

_Chi-Chi sighed, lifting the edge of her skirt. "Then my fightin' clothes aren't good for fightin'?" _

"_Well…just the skirts." Goku said. _

"_Hm…" Chi-Chi frowned thoughtfully. "Well I guess I can do somethin' about it later…maybe cut some of it off? But then the red of my pants would be too strong…"_

_Goku grinned, crouching into a fighting stance. "Come on Chi-Chi. Let's keep goin'." _

"_Jeez, what are you, a machine?" Shaking her head, Chi-Chi tugged at the red silk string button hooks at the right chest area of her uniform. "Give me a second." _

"_Uh- okay. What are you doin'?" _

"_Just…gettin' this outta my way." Chi-Chi finally got the tiny buttons undone and triumphantly pulled off the dress-like gi, revealing a thin white undershirt, and puffy red pants that had previously been visible only through the side slits of her skirt. "K. I'm ready." She frowned when her husband didn't move. "Goku?" _

_Goku's eyes widened slightly and a subtle pink tinge slid across his cheeks. "N-nn! Let's go!" He said quickly, before charging at her. _

**~o~o~o~**

"Goku…" Chi-Chi whispered. She shook her head. She didn't have time to be spacing out. She hurriedly dug out a red sash, wristbands and a pair of loose white pants from her bag. As she yanked on her clothes, Chi-Chi quickly pulled her hair into a low ponytail, leaving enough hair loose in the front to frame the sides of her face. After taking one more look in the bathroom mirror, she sprinted out.

When she arrived downstairs, she saw Krillin, Tenshinhan and Chaotsu already seated at a table laden with fruits, vegetables, bread, eggs, yogurt and large pitchers of water.

"Hey Chi-Chi! You came after all huh? I was wondering if you would." Krillin waved at her cheerfully. "Oh wow! Those clothes sure bring back memories." He said, taking notice of Chi-Chi's gi. "Those look like the clothes you were wearing at the tournament you fought Goku in."

"Mornin' all!" She said, raising her voice a little and looking pointedly at everyone seated at the table to ensure that her greeting would reach all of them. Tenshinhan nodded in response while Chaotsu replied with a cheerful "hi!" She took a seat next to Krillin who was seated across from the two. "'Course I came." She said. "What with everythin' that happened…" Chi-Chi abandoned the sentence, not wanting the conversation to fall to the subject of Goku's death. "Well you know it all anyway." She noticed, with some irritation, that her voice quavered on the last word she spoke.

"Chi-Chi…" Krillin's eyebrows pulled together in sympathy.

"So where are the others?" She asked quickly as she nabbed a plate, a hard-boiled egg, some yogurt, fruit and bread.

"Still getting ready." Krillin said. "It's just Yamcha and Yajirobe that we're waiting for now."

"Yamcha, huh? It's been a while since I last saw him." Chi-Chi said. She poured herself a glass of water. "Are he and Bulma still fightin'…?"

Krillin shook his head. "I heard from Yamcha that they've made up already."

Chi-Chi giggled. "That's what I thought. They're always fightin' until it looks like they've broken up, and then makin' up again - it's like the natural cycle of their relationship."

Krillin rolled his eyes. "Well if it makes them happy…"

"Hey you guys!" Yamcha called out as he walked to the group. Yajirobe sprinted past him and flung himself at the table, shoving food into his mouth the second he was close enough to reach the items on the table. Yamcha stopped short when he noticed who was sitting next to Krillin. "Hey Chi-Chi! So you did decide to come after all!" He took a seat by Tenshinhan.

"'Of course I did." Chi-Chi said. "There's no way I'm gonna wait at home while my son goes out to fight those monsters! I want to be there too to make sure nothing happens to Gohan!"

"Hey, there's no need to worry so much." Yamcha said in a surly manner. "With Kami's special training and all of us working together, there's no way we'll lose."

Chi-Chi smiled weakly, thinking of how overwhelmingly strong Radditz had been. "I hope so."

"Good, everyone is here." Everyone immediately stood up. Kami shook his head and raised a hand. "No, no, don't get up on my account. Please be seated." Once everyone had sat down, Kami spoke. "As you know, I have invited you all here in order to receive special training in preparation for the arrival of the saiyans. It will be a difficult endeavor and require a great deal of perseverance. However, I have confidence that all of you will meet my expectations and become far stronger and more capable warriors than you are now." He smiled. "Now please, continue with your meal. After all, such a rigorous program requires energy. We will begin an hour from now." After nodding as a signal for them to resume eating, he left the room.

"I wonder how Bulma and the others are doin'?" Chi-Chi wondered out loud. "Findin' dragonballs isn't a very safe job."

"Don't worry Chi-Chi!" Krillin said, patting her on the back. "Master Roshi is with them! He may seem like just a perverted old man, but he's really strong. I doubt they'll run into anything he can't handle."

"I guess…" Chi-Chi said dubiously.

"They went looking for the dragonballs?" Chaotsu piped up. A worried frown creased his small chalk-white face. "I hope Launch was able to meet up with them before they left…"

"Launch will be fine." Tenshinhan said. "She's strong enough to take care of herself. She was able to find _us_ in the middle of the desert, wasn't she? Even if she did miss them, she'll be able to catch up to them."

Krillin laughed. "If Launch is with them then we _really _don't have to worry."

"Is she strong too?" Chi-Chi asked, vaguely recalling a woman whose personality and hair colour changed whenever she sneezed.

"Strong _and _scary." Yamcha said around mouthfuls of fruit. "I'd actually feel sorry for the jerk who ends up on the wrong side of her gun in a fight."

"Gun?" Chi-Chi echoed.

**~o~o~o~**

"That's right, run for your lives you low-life, rat shits!" Launch laughed maniacally as she let loose a shower of bullets from her machine gun.

Pirates scattered in all directions to avoid the lethal rain of hot metal and some had begun to beg for their lives while throwing money at their aggressor in an attempt to appease her.

"Um…I think that's enough Launch." Bulma said, tapping the woman on the shoulder. "I'm pretty sure you've scared every last drop of testosterone from their bodies already. Twice. And look, that one over there is crying…"

"Aw fine." Launch sighed disappointedly. "It's real hard to find a man with balls these days."

"Any sane man would run to his momma if he had to deal with you…" Oolong murmured under his breath.

"She's just misunderstood." Puar said beside him. "Launch is actually very nice."

"_Scum-sucking pissants!_ Where's the dragonball!" Launch demanded. She cocked her gun. "Don't make me ask again!" She snarled.

"H-here! It's here!" One of the pirates shakily held up an orange glass-like ball with seven red stars in it.

"Toss it to my friend over here!" She tilted her head to gesture at Bulma. "And no funny moves, otherwise I'll use you all for target practice!"

"Well that makes three now," Bulma said as she caught the airborne dragonball, "counting the ones we got from Chi-Chi's house. Thank goodness her dad was there."

"Poor Ox King." Roshi said, shaking his head. "He's such a mild-mannered man now, dedicated to helpin' others, and he has to find out about everything that happened to his daughter and her family from us. I can't believe Chi-Chi didn't tell him anything."

"She was really upset. I don't blame her." Bulma said. "Well, the best we can do for now is gather the dragonballs and wait." She sighed. "It doesn't feel like much, but it's something, right? Not everyone can fight super-powered aliens."

"In the old days my bullets would've taken care of everything in less than a minute." Launch grumbled as she collected some of the jewelry and cash that had been thrown at her. "I mean, there was the odd time I had to use a bazooka when the cops sent tanks and helicopters after me, but at least I was still sure that when I pulled that trigger, the job would be done."

"Maybe we should sick _you_ on the saiyans." Oolong said in awe. Behind him, Bulma, Roshi and Puar nodded speechlessly.

**~o~o~o~**

Groaning, Chi-Chi dropped face-down onto her small bed, acutely aware of the fact that she was a bruised, sweaty and stinky mess. Kami had not been lying when he told them the training would be difficult. She felt more exhausted than she had in a long time. She could hardly (and didn't want to) imagine what the next day would be like. _'I gotta shower. Get up.' _She made a half-hearted attempt at getting up before flopping back onto the bed. Making a noise of frustration, Chi-Chi settled for stripping off the weighted clothes Kami had materialized for her and dropping them noisily on the floor.

"Another year of this, that's all." She told herself, recalling all the training exercises she had done. She didn't feel reassured. _'But the difficulty of the trainin' just shows that it'll make me stronger for sure!'_ The thought cheered her. _'Maybe I'll become strong enough to beat up Piccolo!" _She giggled. _'And maybe the saiyans'll have tea with us and become our friends.' _She chuckled. _'If only it could be that easy.' _She rolled onto her side, looking thoughtfully out the window. _'Will we be okay in a year?_

*** * * Eleven Months Later * * ***

Smiling, Kami nodded approvingly at the warriors standing side by side in a line before him. "Congratulations! You stand here as accomplished students who have successfully completed my training. All of you should carry yourselves with pride, for you have endured and overcome many hardships and diligently worked towards becoming the mature warriors you are today. I have no more to teach. From now on, you are free to do as you wish until the saiyans arrive."

"Does that mean we don't have to wear these heavy clothes?" Yajirobe asked, tugging on one of the sleeves of his weighted shirt.

"Yes, of course." Kami said. Yajirobe's weighted shirt, wristband and boots were tossed to the floor in a messy heap scarcely after the words were uttered. Kami smiled serenely. "May luck smile upon all of you in the upcoming battle!"

A chorus of "thank yous" filled the air and after saying their goodbyes, Chi-Chi, Krillin, Tenshinhan, Chaotsu, Yamcha and Yajirobe went their respective ways.

**~o~o~o~**

Flying with her arms spread out on either side of her, Chi-Chi gave a sigh of contentment as a cool wind streamed over her and through her widely splayed fingers. The breeze gently swept the uncomfortable heat from her body. Spinning playfully a few times, she allowed herself to indulge in a moment of carefree gliding. _'I hope there'll be more moments like this in the future - for all of us – times when we can just not care about anythin' and be happy.' _

'_But now that I'm free, I can…' _Stopping in mid-flight, Chi-Chi carefully concentrated her energy into thin thread-like strands that extended out in all directions from her body. _'Where are you Gohan? Should be near another large power …There!' _Stronger than ever, the familiar energy signature burned brightly in her mind's eye. It wasn't far. Chi-Chi flew as close as she knew she would be allowed before gently descending to the ground and suppressing her energy. She walked the rest of the way and was gratified to find a group of large rocks standing near Gohan's training area. She could hide behind the boulders while she watched Gohan train. She wouldn't have been allowed to see him otherwise.

Moving swiftly, Chi-Chi darted behind the massive stones and discreetly peered around them at her son. "Gohan…" She whispered as she watched him perform various combinations of kicks and punches in the air. _'You haven't changed. Always workin' so hard, no matter what the task is.' _She couldn't believe how strong he had become in just a year. _'Like father, like son I guess.' _Chi-Chi thought proudly. She frowned. She had sensed Piccolo's energy near Gohan's earlier and had assumed that they were training together. There was no sign of him now though.

"Back again already?" A voice asked dryly.

Chi-Chi spun around quickly and raised her head so she would be able to meet Piccolo's eyes. _'Why does he have to be so tall?' _At the astounding height of about seven feet, Piccolo was an instantly intimidating figure. Chi-Chi's problem with his height wasn't that she was intimidated by it though. He was still shorter than her father after all. Her issue was that it always strained her neck to look the man in the eye. She deemed it a necessary sacrifice however; she didn't want to look meek around Piccolo by leaving her eyes level with his chest and as a result her head bowed to his gaze. "Kami's trainin' is over." She said.

A look of disgust crossed Piccolo's face. "You'll be coming here more often?"

"I won't disrupt Gohan or your trainin'." Chi-Chi said. "…And you don't have to keep watching me so closely whenever I visit. It's troublesome for you, isn't it? I've been followin' your ridiculous rules for months. What makes you think I'll break them now?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

Chi-Chi swallowed back a curse and unsuccessfully tried to think of calming thoughts. "Let's get somethin' straight." She hissed, barely restraining her anger. "I want Gohan to survive the fight against the saiyans more than anythin' else. For now, that means leavin' him in your hands and not lettin' him lose his resolve by seein' me. I don't like it, but I understand, okay? So…" Chi-Chi looked at Gohan who was still completely unaware of her presence. She faltered and she felt her anger ebb. "So just lay off for a little while." She finished as she watched Gohan.

Piccolo stared at the forlorn woman. She had been a constant annoyance from the time Gohan had learned enough control over his energy to remain powered up. That had been around seven months after he had taken Gohan as a student. Fortunately, he had sensed Chi-Chi coming and had been able to intercept her before she could reach Gohan.

**~o~o~o~**

"_Leave." _

"_Get outta my way!" Chi-Chi demanded. _

"_Don't make me ask twice." Piccolo growled. "Otherwise, I can arrange a meeting between you and the ground again." _

"_Why won't you let me see him?" Chi-Chi asked. "Have you hurt him?" _

_Piccolo considered following through with his earlier threat. __**'She'll probably just fly back again.' **__He knew she was an obstinate woman and turning her away would only make her more determined. He had to make her agree with him if he wanted her to leave him alone in peace. "Don't be a fool. I have nothing to gain from that." He said._

"_Then why?" _

"_I've already gone through a great deal of trouble to instill some independence into the boy. If he sees you he may relapse into the spineless crybaby he once was." _

"_He's only five!" _

"_We've already had this conversation." He eyed her coldly. "Do I need to remind you why you decided to leave Gohan with me last time?" Chi-Chi turned her head away. _

"_You don't have to say it." She said softly. "I get it. It was my fault." _

"_If you understand, then leave." _

"_Let me see him." Before Piccolo could berate her, Chi-Chi added, "He doesn't have to see me." _

_Piccolo raised an eyebrow. "What are you saying?"_

"_I just want to see him again." Chi-Chi said. She looked up at him, her eyes moist. "He's my beloved child. He means more to me than anythin' else. So…so please." The words were difficult for her to say. She didn't want Piccolo to think she was at his mercy, but she was. "This isn't a flatland. There are plenty of places I can hide and I'll be too far away from him to be accidentally discovered. I won't let him see me. I promise." _

_He stared emotionlessly at her tearful eyes. He was prepared to refuse her request, perhaps engage in a short-lived fight with the woman in order to chase her away and most likely repeat the process whenever she decided to return to try again. _

_But then he noticed the most insignificant of details. Gohan's eyes. It was from her that Gohan had inherited the unique shape of his eyes. They were the same eyes that always looked at him with absolute trust, no matter how harshly he spoke or acted. He had never been able to understand it. He didn't want to. Thinking too much about such things made him uncomfortable. _

"_Suppress your energy and walk." Piccolo said. _

_Chi-Chi's eyes widened. "Then-?"_

"_I'll make you regret it if he sees you." _

_Ecstatic, Chi-Chi simply nodded. _

**~o~o~o~**

The strange feeling that had recently become an irritatingly frequent presence in his life – particularly when Gohan was near - flared up in his chest in response to the memory. Irritated by the feeling, Piccolo spoke. "If you have enough time to stand here doing nothing, then-"

"I should be trainin'." Chi-Chi finished for him. "I got it." Sighing, she took one last long look at Gohan and moving slowly, left.

"Humans." Piccolo murmured. "So strange." But he wasn't sure he could say it with complete honesty anymore.

**~o~o~o~**

"And that makes seven!" Bulma cheered as she playfully tossed and caught the two-star dragonball. "Let's get something to eat then go back to Roshi's island!"

"Sounds good to me." Oolong panted, sounding thoroughly winded. "Running from dinosaurs is tough work."

"I gotta give you credit for that. You did a real good job in distracting that t-rex while we snuck into its nest." Launch commented, sounding mildly impressed. "I didn't think you'd actually go for it."

"You threw me in front of it! What do you mean 'go for it!'" Oolong snapped.

"I sent Roshi in after you didn't I?" Launch said defensively.

"Well, the important thing is that we all survived _and_ we got the dragonball!" Bulma cut in cheerfully as she stepped in between the two.

"That's true." Roshi said as he idly fingered the jagged edge of his torn jacket sleeve. "And we've got a month to spare."

"There's nothing to do but wait." Bulma said. "The others must be training harder than ever now that it's close to the time the saiyans should be arriving." Her heart thumped painfully and she pressed a hand to her chest.

Puar noticed the gesture and floated closer to Bulma, looking concerned. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing I think." Bulma answered. "I just got an uneasy feeling, that's all." She inhaled and exhaled loudly. "Just a little nervous for everyone I guess."

Roshi put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. We're all worried about what might happen when it's time for our friends to fight, but they're not going in unprepared. With Kami training them, we should expect great increases in their power and ability."

"Yea, and don't forget that Goku'll be helping them out too!" Launch added. "There's no way they'll lose."

Bulma nodded and her frown of concern smoothed slightly. "Y-yea. You're right." But the feeling of foreboding remained.

**~o~o~o~**

Chi-Chi took a deep breath to concentrate. She didn't know if the attack she had been formulating in her mind over the past few months would really work. It would be the first time she physically tried it.

Gohan had been born unusually powerful. The proof was simply in that without any prior training, he had been able to severely injure Radditz who had declared himself at least twice as powerful as Goku. If that was true, then she had been carrying a child that was far more powerful than herself.

Carefully, she drew out the energy she had been storing within her abdomen during the past few days. She slowly moved the energy into her arms and allowed her body to absorb a portion of it. Recalling what she had been taught by Goku and in greater detail by Kami, she knew that shooting energy is a slightly more complicated process than simply throwing it out from the body.

**~o~o~o~**

"_As I'm sure you've all already learned by now, energy attacks require you to use a portion of your energy to reinforce your body so that it is able to withstand the unnatural strain of having large amounts of power surging through it." Kami said. Chi-Chi, Krillin, Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Chaotsu and Yajirobe nodded. "It is also possible to concentrate your energy in a single point outside your body to create an attack that far exceeds your physical limits, thus bypassing the need to reinforce the body as extensively. An example of such an attack is the kamehameha, in which the user gradually draws out the required energy and collects it in the space between his hands. Using this method, one can easily form a powerful attack wave and use up less energy to fortify his or her body. However, this method tends to be more noticeable in its formative stages and takes longer to prepare, as you're drawing out the attack's energy in smaller amounts rather than all at once."_

"_Can the body be trained to use a greater percentage of energy at once?" Tenshinhan asked. _

_Kami nodded. "Yes, but you must be very careful. The body restricts the expulsion of energy in order to prevent the instant depletion of one's life force. The energy you fight with is the same that you use to live after all." _

"_Why do we need to know this anyway?" Yajirobe asked impatiently. "I don't even use energy attacks."_

_Kami smiled. "Simply for reference. It is always helpful to understand the workings of one's own body. This information might also aid you in the creation of new techniques that are suitable for the objectives you have in mind." _

_Later, after Kami dismissed everyone for dinner, Chi-Chi approached him. "I have another question." She said. _

"_What is it?" He asked curiously. _

"_What if you were somehow able to gather more energy than your body usually holds?" Chi-Chi asked. _

"_Hm…Can you elaborate?" Kami said. _

"_Um… Well, say there's three equally powerfully people, and two of them transfer their energies into the third person. Would it be dangerous for that person to use all of that energy in one attack, even if he reinforced his body accordingly?" _

"_Very much so." Kami said. "Using, even merely storing more energy than your body normally holds has a great chance of destroying you. I would not recommend such a move. Your body naturally holds only as much power as it can handle." _

_Chi-Chi bit her bottom lip. "And what if a person were able to store a large amount of energy within her body naturally?"_

_Kami looked at her thoughtfully. "Can you explain what you mean in greater detail?" _

"_It was somethin' I thought of by accident. It was just the realization that when I was pregnant with Gohan, I was carryin' a baby way stronger than I was." Chi-Chi said. "It was a stretch, but I figured that I might be able to store extra energy in the same place, even without the help of a half-saiyan baby. Since we were technically one body until he was born. And… I think it's been workin' fine. I mean, other than feelin' a little more energetic, I feel the same as always."_

"_Fascinating." Kami murmured. "This ability you've discovered could be very beneficial to you. With that inner reserve of energy, you could significantly increase your endurance in a battle."_

_Chi-Chi nodded. "I have another question though. I was wonderin' if it would be too dangerous to try usin' all my stored energy at once." Kami's eyes widened. _

"_Why would you want to do that?"_

_Chi-Chi's expression became somber. "I was powerless against Radditz. We all were. Our power was nothin' in comparison to his. It didn't even matter how much we had trained. If it wasn't for Piccolo, then we all would have died. I want to have somethin' I can rely on in case the same thing happens again." _

"_I see." Kami looked stepped back. "Unfortunately I cannot offer any insight to your situation. This is as new to me as it is to you. I suspect that it is an ability that only women can have. Regretfully, all I can offer in the way of advice is that you be very careful if you do attempt such a feat." _

**~o~o~o~**

Chi-Chi straightened her arms, not quite locking them, extending her hands far out in front of herself and kept the insides of her wrists together so that her fingers were fanned out to the sides. She shifted more energy into her shaking hands in an attempt to stabilize them. She winced when her muscles throbbed. She had reached her body's limit.

She took a deep breath. She was ready. "Magni-striker!" A thin, blindingly bright beam of energy shot from her hands almost too quickly for her to follow and knocked her off her feet, causing the attack to fly into the air instead of at her intended target. The beam flew straight through the top of a mountain, cutting a clean hole through it in an instant and continued to burn a path through the sky until it disappeared into the distance. The visible damage her attack had caused wasn't impressive, but she could feel the magnitude of the power she had just channeled. Even a far more powerful opponent would have trouble against such a move – _'that is, as long as I can aim the thing properly-' _She coughed and winced. Her mouth tasted like iron and her ears were ringing. Everything around her had begun to spin and she realized she had overexerted herself. "Damn i-" She choked out before pitching face first into the ground.

When she woke up later, the taste of vomit was in her mouth and she was gratified to find that she had upchucked beside instead of on herself. _'Thank god I didn't drown in it either. That would have been embarrassin'. In the noble pursuit of trainin' for the fight against the saiyans, Son Chi-Chi dies by chokin' on her puke.' _She sighed tiredly and winced at the screaming pain in her hands and arms. _'K. I gotta leave myself a little more energy when I use that move…so I don't end up face down on the ground in the middle of a fight.' _

She attempted to rise and assess the damage, but her muscles shook violently from the effort. "Damn it." Chi-Chi murmured. Struggling, she slid her arms closer to her body so that her hands were flat on the ground beside her shoulders. She winced. The skin of her hands seemed to be burning. "I hope a dinosaur doesn't stroll by." Chi-Chi grumbled as she painstakingly pushed herself into a sitting position.

"How am I goin' to get home?" She wondered out loud. It would be at least an hour's walk and she felt utterly drained. "Oh!" Her expression brightened when an idea hit her. "Flyin' Nimbus!" She called out. A moment later, a golden yellow cloud descended from the sky and flew to her side. She clumsily climbed onto it and sprawled over the cloud exhaustedly. She wondered if Nimbus would mind if she took a nap on it. As if it had sensed her thoughts, the small cloud bucked underneath her, causing her to bounce on its fluffy surface. "As long as you take me all the way to my bed, you have nothin' to worry about." Chi-Chi grumbled sleepily.

**~o~o~o~**

"One day a chicken was found dead in its home. The police ruled it fowl play!" North Kai crowed. He looked expectantly at Goku who looked blankly at him. When a frown began to develop on the kai's face, Goku quickly forced a boisterous laugh.

"You're hilarious!" Goku lied around his forced laughter. "The funniest guy in the universe!"

"I am, aren't I?" He grinned proudly. "Ahh I love a good joke. Anyway, consider that a little goodbye gift from me."

"Thanks King Kai." Goku smiled. He jerked back in surprise when North Kai suddenly let out a loud cry.

"What's wrong?" Goku yelped.

"I forgot to factor in the time it would take you to run back over Snake Way!"

Goku choked. "Run back? I thought I was goin' to be teleported back or somethin'! It took me six months to get here! The earth will be destroyed by the time I get back!"

North Kai shook his head. "It'll only take you two days now that you've completed my training."

"That still means I'll be a day late!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about that. You'll just have to try to get back as fast as you can and hope your friends can hold off the saiyans until then." North Kai glanced above Goku's head. "Good, it looks like your friends have finished making their wish. You're alive again."

"Really?" Goku looked up. "I'll be off then! Thank you for trainin' me King Kai! I'll come visit you if I die again! Bye!"

"Bye!" North Kai sighed. "Good luck."

**~o~o~o~**

Chi-Chi stretched. After three days of rest, it seemed that she had completely recovered. _'I think I'll just do some light trainin' for today.' _She blinked when all of a sudden the sun seemed to disappear and lightning sliced across the sky. No rain followed. _'It must be Shenlong! Then Goku's goin' to be wished back!'_ Her heart drummed rapidly with excitement. She would finally be able to see her husband again after nearly a year of training. Her elation dimmed as a thought struck her. _'He didn't want to be wished back until it was time for the saiyans to arrive…' _Chi-Chi looked grimly at the sky, her hands curling into tight fists. _'That must mean they're comin' earlier than we expected.' _

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**~o~o~o~**

**Author's Notes**

Hiya! Sorry for the delay - my internet conked out for almost two weeks. I guess it gave me time to work on this fanfic, but still… no internet… for that long. I was pretty pissed at Telus, seeing as I kept calling them on the days they were supposed to fix my service and getting a reply that it would be fixed _the next day._ Grr…

Anyway, putting that behind me, this was possibly one of the most difficult chapters to write, just cause it was pretty much filler. So admittedly, part of the reason this chapter is late is because I had a massive case of writer's block. I mean, it was stuff that _had _to happen, but I wasn't absolutely sure about whether to actually write it in detail or just mention it in passing. I decided to compromise by mentioning the training in passing and detailing a few events that occurred in between. It allowed me to get a smidgen of character development in there.

If anyone was wondering, I made up all that stuff about energy. Yep, that was all just me using artistic license. From this chapter on, things should just keep moving away from the original storyline, though some canon events will be kept to retain the "DBZ universe" feel.

And _dude. _I was looking up dates of events in the DB/DBZ universe and if the sources are correct, then Goku and Chi-Chi were teenage parents! We're talking 16-17 year olds! Not that I have a problem with it because everyone's circumstances and preferences are different, but _wow._ If I had a kid at that age I'd probably be pretty cranky all the time too.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I adore hearing from you guys! It seems like some of you are pretty excited about the upcoming battle against the saiyans – as am I – and I hope I can deliver a chapter that meets your expectations!

And ya, I know King Kai's joke wasn't that funny, but I didn't find his jokes particularly funny in the series either. I still say I'm being true to the canon in this sense though, since Toriyama intentionally made King Kai's jokes lame. XD

By the way, anyone that's a Piccolo fan should check out Onyx's fanfics, particularly her "Dark Star" books and "The Long Goodbye." They're beautiful reads with so much soul in them. :)


	5. The Cabbage Man Brings Hell

**Dragonball Divergence by TokiNabi**

**Disclaimer: **Dragonball, Z and GT belong to Akira Toriyama and Toei. Some of the dialogue and plot points in this fanfic are from the Dragonball manga. The rest however, is my own work. This is simply a work of fiction for fun and not for the purposes of profit. The original bits of this fanfiction are mine though.

**Chapter 05: The Cabbage Man Brings Hell**

**~o~o~o~**

"Mr. Piccolo?" A small voice broke the silence that Piccolo had assumed earlier as an indication that Gohan had gone to sleep.

"What is it?" He had briefly considered telling the boy to sleep, but after spending months with Gohan, he knew it would be an exercise in futility. Gohan was a talkative child and sometimes even being petrified with fear didn't stop him from saying something. Telling the boy to shut up only worked temporarily and recently Gohan had begun to interpret "be quiet" as "talk a bit later."

Something else Piccolo had discovered was that the more Gohan talked, the more questions he asked. Gohan's phrases had gone from, "I'm scared, hungry, cold and/or I have to pee," to even more pointless things like: "what are you thinking about Mr. Piccolo," or "when's your birthday" and the completely unexpected, "don't worry about my mom Mr. Piccolo. She can be scary, but I'll tell her we're friends so she doesn't yell at you." There had been so many things wrong with that sentence he hadn't known what to start yelling about first. He was not and had never been afraid of Gohan's moody mother. It was still in fact, a mystery to him why Son Goku was so cowed by her when he was far more powerful than her. And…_friends. _At what point had he given Gohan the impression that he wanted to be friends? But by the time he had recovered from the shock, Gohan had fallen asleep, a smile on his dirt-smudged face – evidently having taken Piccolo's silence as a full agreement to his statement.

"Do you think my mommy and daddy will be at the battle against the saiyans?" Gohan asked, pulling Piccolo from his brief moment of reminiscing.

"They'll be there." Piccolo said, grateful that the boy had asked a relatively innocuous question. "There's no doubt about that."

Gohan looked quietly at the fire burning nearby. "After the fight against the saiyans…you won't fight my mom and dad right?" Piccolo looked sharply at Gohan. _'Of course he couldn't go the night without asking at least one annoying question.' _

"Don't go making assumptions about what I will and won't do brat." He snarled, causing Gohan to shrink back. "I still have unfinished business with your father and if your mother gets in the way I won't hesitate in striking her down as well."

"But…we're friends." Gohan said, as if it was enough of a reason why the fight shouldn't occur.

Gohan's voice seemed to pierce into his chest, settling there to burn uncomfortably. Bothered by the feeling – _'it's not guilt, I don't feel that kind of emotion-'_ Piccolo's order came out more harshly than he had intended. "Go to sleep!"

"Yes sir!" Gohan yelped, all but throwing himself to the ground and quickly shutting his eyes. A full minute of silence passed. "…Goodnight Mr. Piccolo."

Piccolo sighed. _'Mouthy brat.' _

**~o~o~o~**

It was early in the afternoon during her flight to see Gohan when Chi-Chi sensed the enormous energy signatures approaching quickly from the sky. She froze in mid-air when fire from an explosion stabbed the sky not long after the aliens' arrival. Narrowing her eyes she resumed her flight at an increased speed, intent on finding her son before the battle began.

**~o~o~o~**

Gohan shifted nervously where he stood. He hadn't slept particularly well, but after nearly a year of Piccolo's training methods, it would hardly make a difference in his fighting ability. His heart thundered in his chest and he took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. He didn't want to look like a coward in front of Piccolo. He would stand up straight and fight, even at the risk of death. He tried not to shiver. Even though training with Piccolo had been brutally painful at times, he had always believed – had _known_ that Piccolo would not kill him. There were even times when the man seemed a little sorry about hitting him too hard – although that was only a guess on Gohan's part since Piccolo would never admit to such a thing.

"Prepare yourself Gohan." Piccolo said sternly. "They're coming this way."

"Yes Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan said, swallowing nervously as he slowly raised his energy to match Piccolo's.

"Someone's approaching." Piccolo growled.

"A saiyan?" Gohan asked, trying not to show his fear.

Irritation creased Piccolo's face. "…Worse perhaps."

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi cried out as she hurriedly landed and rushed to her son.

"Mommy?" Gohan yelped when he was tackled and gathered up in a tight hug. He closed his eyes in the familiar and comforting embrace. It had been so long since he had last gotten a hug from his mother or from anyone really. Piccolo wasn't the hugging type. He didn't really like to be touched at all. It was with this knowledge that Gohan considered his last heroic attempt to hug Piccolo a stunning achievement. The man had threatened him with bodily harm if he did not let go, rather than immediately resorting to physical violence as he had in the past. Gohan figured it wouldn't be long until he managed to give Piccolo a proper hug without being pushed away.

"Oh, I missed you so much!" Chi-Chi gave him one last affectionate squeeze before putting him down and leaning back so she could inspect her son thoroughly. "You've grown so much! Ooh- your hair needs to be cut!" She gently combed through his hair once with her fingers. She noted with silent disapproval that Gohan was dressed in the same purple gi that Piccolo wore.

"Mommy- it's okay- I-" Gohan's cheeks reddened, wondering what Piccolo was thinking while watching them.

It was then that Chi-Chi noticed something she hadn't before. She had always been too far from Gohan to notice specific details about his appearance while he was training under Piccolo after all. Her eyes widened. "…Gohan, where's your tail?" She asked stiffly.

"Oh- Mr. Piccolo cut it off. He said it was a weakness." Gohan answered, still looking cheerful. "He did it while I was sleeping, so I didn't feel it."

"Cut-" Chi-Chi choked. "Are you okay? Did Piccolo ever hurt you?" She glared at the man standing a short distance away. "You tell me if he did and I'll-"

"No mom." Gohan said quickly. "Mr. Piccolo was really nice to me."

"Nice!" She gaped incredulously.

Standing nearby, Piccolo raised an eyebrow. _'Nice?' _

Chi-Chi stared speechlessly at her son, unable to believe what she had heard from him.

"Hey!" Everyone looked up.

"Krillin!" Chi-Chi said happily.

He smiled. "Chi-Chi! And Gohan and Piccolo too! Looks like all of you became stronger!"

Piccolo smirked. "I was about the mention the same about you. I'm surprised."

"Haven't changed a bit, have you?" Krillin murmured under his breath.

"Oh- I remember you! From the island!" Gohan said cheerfully. "My dad told me that you're small but strong!"

"_Gohan._" Chi-Chi said quickly, reddening at her son's unintentionally rude comment.

"That's Goku for you." Krillin grumbled. "So smug just 'cause he grew a few inches more than I did…"

"They're here." Piccolo said grimly, abruptly putting an end to the conversation.

Everyone's eyes darted to the new arrivals.

"Were you earthlings waiting for us?" One of the saiyans asked. His head was completely devoid of hair and he wore black armor that was similar to Radditz's. He was massive - taller than even Piccolo, and a great deal wider. _'He looks like a tall bald mountain of pure muscle.' _Chi-Chi thought, simultaneously dismayed and amused by the description. "You all look weak…" The saiyan laughed. "Now, which one of you wants to fight me first?" His eyes roved hungrily from one warrior to another, eager for a target. Chi-Chi glared poisonously at him when she noticed his eyes linger upon her.

"Wait Nappa." The other saiyan spoke up. In complete contrast with the first saiyan, this one was leaner and short – only about half the height of his companion – and had a full head of spiky black hair that vaguely resembled a candle flame or a leaf with multiple pointed tips. His armor was white and underneath it he wore a skin-tight dark blue body suit. "We need to ask them about the dragonballs first."

Nappa immediately calmed, nodding in agreement. "Yes Prince Vegeta." He stepped sideways to allow the man to pass. Vegeta briefly scanned each person present and stopped at Piccolo.

"A Namekian…then you must be the one responsible for the creation of the dragonballs."

"Strange that he's so far from his own planet." Nappa remarked.

"Namekian?" Piccolo echoed.

"Then Mr. Piccolo's an alien?" Gohan gasped.

'_It explains a few things.'_ Chi-Chi thought as she discreetly glanced at Piccolo.

"I never would have guessed." Krillin said flatly, barely looking surprised.

**~o~o~o~**

From the lookout, Kami and Popo absorbed the information.

"Certainly I wondered about my obvious physical differences from all the other inhabitants of this planet, but I never imagined that I might be from another planet…" Kami murmured, mystified by the newfound information about his origins. "But this explains the feeling of nostalgia I experienced when I created the dragonballs…"

**~o~o~o~**

"Tell us about the location of the dragonballs and we'll make your deaths quick and painless." Vegeta said.

Piccolo grinned, baring long sharp fangs. "You'll have to try your best to beat it out of us. I am not the creator of the dragonballs. My specialty lies in battle and I'll be more than happy to demonstrate my abilities."

"I recognize that voice… you're the one who killed Radditz, aren't you?" Vegeta grinned. "It makes sense now, that he was defeated."

Nappa tapped his scouter and gauged each of his opponent's power levels. He frowned with confusion and turned to look at his companion. "They're all around one-thousand…"

"Don't bother with those useless readings." Vegeta said as he removed his scouter. "The earthlings have the ability to manipulate their power levels, remember?"

"Oh- yea!" Nappa grinned, taking off his as well. "That's why that weakling Radditz died, because he relied too much on his scouter." He rubbed the back of his thick neck as he stepped forward. Who's going to fight me first?"

"I'll be your opponent!"

"Tenshinhan! And Yamcha and Chaotsu!" Krillin said happily. The three newcomers landed near their friends.

"I will fight you." Tenshinhan announced again, stepping forward.

"It would be extremely foolish to fight Nappa alone." Vegeta smirked. "You'll die very quickly."

"We'll see." Tenshinhan said.

"Nappa, why don't you give them a quick show?" Vegeta said, deliberately glancing in the direction of the various media crews that had cautiously assembled some distance away to record the aliens' movements.

Nappa grinned widely and slowly raised his arm, pointing at the media crews. "_Bang."_ He said. Scarcely after the word left his mouth, all the people disappeared in a wave of white energy.

Chi-Chi's mouth fell open and she heard the others gasp around her. Gohan let out a cry of dismay.

"How could you kill all of them?" Chi-Chi shouted. "They weren't even involved!"

Nappa snickered. "Everyone on this planet is going to die anyway. What does it matter if it's now or later?"

"Don't be so sure of that!" Tenshinhan stepped forward, eyes narrowed challengingly at the saiyan. "You won't be saying that with such certainty after we fight!"

"I'll fight too." Yamcha said. "Can't let you have all the fun to yourself."

"Yamcha…"

"Hah, that's fine! Why don't you _all_ come at me?" Nappa sneered. "The end result will be the same because you're all weak!"

Chaotsu hesitantly floated forward, but Tenshinhan shook his head. "For now, only Yamcha and I will fight. The rest of you should look for potential weaknesses in his fighting style, in case we can't defeat him." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good luck Tenshinhan, Yamcha!" Chaotsu called. They smiled in response as they approached Nappa.

"Well? Have you finished saying your goodbyes?" Nappa grinned.

"He's really cocky, isn't he?" Yamcha remarked.

"Let's just hope his power isn't as big as his mouth." Tenshinhan said. "Ready?"

Yamcha nodded. "Let's do this." They crouched and simultaneously seemed to blur out of sight. Nappa smirked before phasing out of focus as well.

"They disappeared!" Gohan exclaimed.

"No they didn't." Chi-Chi said gently at the same time Piccolo said,

"They didn't, you fool." They looked at each other. Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes at Piccolo.

"What did you call him?"

Piccolo ignored her and spoke to Gohan. "Don't use your eyes. _Sense_ their energies."

"Sense? But how?" Gohan asked.

"Use your other senses in unison as a starting point to catch their movements." Piccolo said. Gohan frowned.

"I-I can hear them I think…But I still can't sense anything…"

"Relax." Chi-Chi said as Piccolo opened his mouth. This time she was the one on the receiving end of a glare, which she pointedly ignored. Chi-Chi put a hand on Gohan's shoulder. "Don't let that bother you right now Gohan. You're just learnin'. Just breathe, close your eyes and concentrate on all your other senses."

Gohan nodded. "Okay."

"Good." Chi-Chi smiled. "Now, allow your energy to extend out from yourself– gently!" She winced as she was jostled by an invisible push from Gohan's energy flaring out too aggressively. "The object is to _sense_ others, not attack them with the energy you reach out with."

"Gently…" Gohan murmured. He could already vaguely hear Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Nappa's movements. He thinned out the lines of energy extending from his body into threads and suddenly his sense of the area stretched considerably wider. And- Gohan's eyes snapped open. "I can see them!" He gasped, eyes already following the blurred outlines of the fighters. _'I get it now.' _Gohan could feel it when their life forces disturbed the outstretched lines of his energy, which were now acting as sensitive extensions of himself.

Spinning in the air, Yamcha slashed his heel at Nappa's head. The saiyan easily blocked the attack and swiftly twisting his wrist around, grabbed Yamcha's leg and flung him at a nearby mountain.

"Yamcha!" Tenshinhan stormed Nappa with a combination of vicious punches and kicks.

"Not bad!" Nappa laughed as he either blocked or avoided each hit. "But still not good enough!" He smashed his fist into the other man's jaw. Tenshinhan's head snapped to the side. He began to tumble towards the ground, the limpness of his body signaling that he had lost consciousness.

"Tenshinhan!" Chaotsu rushed to the falling man's aid.

"We have to go help them!" Krillin moved to follow Chaotsu. Chi-Chi nodded, ready to do the same.

"Wait!" Piccolo barked, stopping them in their tracks.

"Why?" Krillin demanded.

"He's too strong for any of us to fight alone. The same thing will just happen to you two if you try to attack him one by one. I have a plan." He said lowly, eyes flickering to Vegeta suspiciously.

Noticing the conspiratorial glance, Vegeta smirked. "Do whatever you want against Nappa. I won't interfere…nor will I have to."

Piccolo sent one more distrustful look at the man before quietly outlining his plan to the group.

Chaotsu caught Tenshinhan just before he hit the ground.

"Are you joining the fight now, tiny?" Nappa sneered.

Chaotsu shivered at the wild look in his eyes, but set his jaw determinedly. "Of course I am!" He shouted, gently placing his friend on the ground.

"Well then try your luck!"

Chaotsu tried not to show his fear. He knew he was no match at all for the huge man before him, but there was no other option than to fight now that he was there and trying to protect Tenshinhan. Where were the others? Keeping his eyes trained on his opponent, he searched for their energies. They were slowly making their way behind Nappa, which meant…

"Just try to block all this if you can!" He shouted. He gathered energy into his hands, divided it into multiple spheres and threw them in rapid succession. As he had expected, the saiyan deflected them all with little effort, but his focus was now completely on him.

"Is that all?" Nappa threw back his head and laughed. "I don't even know if I should bother wasting my energy killing you! It'll be like stepping on an ant!" He whipped a hand to the side, swatting an energy ball into the ground.

"It won't be so easy to crush these ants!" Yamcha, covered in a thin layer of dust and scratched in a few places, grinned as he formed another ball of energy.

"Yamcha!" Chaotsu cried out.

"You must have hit your head, thinking a weak attack like that will do anything to me!" Nappa jeered. "Well then, go ahead!" Smirking, he relaxed his stance and straightened. "You won't even put a scratch on me!"

"Now!" Piccolo shouted. From the air, he, Chi-Chi, Krillin and Gohan simultaneously attacked. Nappa's head snapped up at the sound of Piccolo's voice, his eyes immediately registering the twisting pillar of combined energies and above it, the four that had previously been standing back and watching their comrades fight.

"Pathetic!" He yelled, shoving his arms in front of him. The blast slammed into his hands, which were already glowing with his own energy. "Let me show you real power!"

"He's pushin' us back!" Chi-Chi said anxiously.

"Hold your position!" Piccolo growled, pushing more energy into his attack.

"It's…too much…" Krillin hissed through gritted teeth, veins rising on his arms and forehead. "I can't keep this up!"

"He's too strong..." Gohan cried out.

Nappa let out a triumphant laugh. "I'll turn you all to dust!"

"Take this!" A second barrage of energy barreled into the massive saiyan from behind. Nappa howled as he was sent spinning to the ground. The energy he had been forcing away collapsed upon him an instant later and exploded. Everyone shielded their eyes as dirt and splinters of rock sliced through the air.

When the airborne debris settled, Nappa's body lying amongst large fragments of displaced earth became visible.

"We did it!" Yamcha cheered. He turned and slapped the back of the man beside him. "Thanks to you, we were all able to get a clear shot!"

Tenshinhan, who had just regained consciousness and attacked simultaneously with Yamcha and Chaotsu to throw Nappa off balance, shook his head. "This was only possible through all of our combined efforts." He smiled at Chaotsu. "Thanks for watching my back while I was out." Chaotsu grinned back.

"I can't believe we actually beat him." Chi-Chi breathed. "For a moment back there, I thought we were the ones who were goin' to die."

"Me too." Krillin laughed. "But it worked out alright somehow."

"Because of Mr. Piccolo's plan!" Gohan said, looking proudly at his mentor.

"This is no time for celebrations." Piccolo growled. The others' smiles faded under the weight of his stern glare. "We beat the weaker of the two saiyans, and barely at that. Now we have to fight a more powerful and intelligent opponent. I doubt we can take him down the same way we did the first." He kept his eyes on Vegeta as he spoke, suspicious of his relaxed posture and what it meant. "We…" Piccolo trailed off, jaw slackening. His eyes were focused on something over Gohan's head.

"Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan said hesitantly. "What's wrong?" He looked first at his mother, then at Krillin and found the same expression of shock on their faces as they stared at something behind him. He turned.

Bloodied and visibly enraged, Nappa rose from the ruins, hissing at a frenzied pace through his teeth. "Trying to distract me so you could hit me from behind? Well it failed!" He screamed. "You trash could never kill me!" He turned his bulging enraged eyes on Yamcha, Chaotsu and Tenshinhan and roaring, swung a massive hand at the group. The three were instantly swallowed up by the fiery torrent that followed Nappa's furious movement.

"Noo!" Krillin screamed, reaching out while rushing, too late, at the outlines of his friends, writhing within the violently churning white flames. He was slammed back by the shockwave of the blast, skin singed by the heat shooting out from the explosion.

Chi-Chi, Gohan and Piccolo stared mutely at the wide stretch of burning land Nappa had created with one swing of his arm. Gohan stumbled to his knees, overwhelmed.

Krillin strugged to stand, wincing at his burns. "No…" He whispered, as his eyes frantically peered through the black smoke rising up from the broken ground his friends had just been standing on. "They're- they're gone! They're completely-!"

Nappa laughed. "Nothing but ashes are left! Too bad, right? You better not inhale too deeply, otherwise you might end up sucking in your friends!"

"N-no way…" Chi-Chi- whispered. "All of us attacked him at the same time…and he's only a little injured after all that…"

"You bastard!" Krillin bellowed. Tears were visible in the corners of his eyes. He raised his hand and flattened his palm so it was facing up. Keeping his arm straight, he began to move his palm in flat horizontal circles in the air. Energy the shape of a disc formed above his hand. "I'm going to kill you!" The disc's edges thinned razor sharp and grew jagged teeth.

"Try it!" Nappa snarled excitedly, spreading his arms out wide and curling his fingers into claws.

"Catch this, you monster! If you think you can! Destructo disc!" Krillin hurled the spinning disc of energy, intent on severing the saiyan's head. Nappa smugly sprinted straight for it.

Vegeta's eyes widened when he realized the man truly intended to catch the lethal technique. "Nappa! Dodge it!" He shouted.

Stopping short, Nappa obeyed, swinging his head far to the side. The blade missed his neck, but slashed deep into his cheek as it passed.

"Damnit! At the very last second!" Krillin shouted.

"That moron. Couldn't he tell what kind of weapon it was?" Vegeta grumbled, glaring at Nappa in disgust.

"My face…" Nappa murmured, touching the slit in his cheek with the tips of his fingers. "You damaged my face!" Snarling, he lunged at Krillin, fist raised. He swung his arm down. Krillin lurched to his right and Nappa's fist took the hairs off his cheek as it swept by. Instead of his head, Krillin's arm was caught by the attack and crushed into the ground. He screamed as the bones in his arm gave way under the force of the blow.

"Krillin!" Chi-Chi shouted. She saw Piccolo and Gohan rush past her, sprinting at Nappa to catch him from behind. She crouched to leap into the fight as well, but hesitated. _'Even if all of you are fightin', he'll still beat you. Now's the time to use it.'_ She glanced at the others who were now locked in an intense struggle with Nappa. Either she went through with it now or didn't do it at all. There wouldn't be time unless she began right away – might not be enough time anyway. But - she pressed her hands together down in front of her resolutely - there was no other option.

She inhaled deeply and slowly let the breath out. Energy she had been storing within herself flowed into her hands, seeping into the flesh and blood that would act as the path for the magni-striker.

Her eyes darted up when she heard a cry from Gohan. Relief drained the tension from her muscles when she saw her son stand despite the hit he had taken. Krillin was lying unconscious some distance away from the fight. Piccolo was busy dodging and blocking all of Nappa's hits. Despite his size, the saiyan was frighteningly fast. Even with Gohan's assistance, Piccolo was hardly able to retaliate with his own strikes. She forced her body to remain still. It wouldn't be long now. She hoped everyone would be able to hold out until she finished.

Piccolo snarled in frustration as his opponent evaded each of his hits. Gohan was not faring much better either and seemed to be dodging fewer of Nappa's attacks as the fight stretched on. Anger flared up in Piccolo's chest. _'What the hell is that woman doing at a time like this? Why is she just standing-' _His eyes widened when his senses registered what Chi-Chi had evidently been preparing for the past few minutes.

"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan looked as shocked as Piccolo felt. "Wha-"

Piccolo shook his head at the boy to silence him and lowered his voice so only he would hear him. "Don't bring attention to her. Whatever she's doing, she'll need the advantage of surprise." Gohan nodded.

"Okay."

"What are you whispering about over there?" Nappa called out. "Trying to make another useless plan?"

"Something like that." Piccolo said. "Well, are we still fighting? Or are you too tired _old man_?"

"Better than dead!" Nappa yelled, drawing his arm back. Something exploded against his back. "What?" He spun around.

"That was from me!" Krillin grinned widely despite his mangled arm which hung limply at his side.

"Mr. Krillin!" Gohan cried out. "Your arm…"

"I'm fine." Krillin said, wiping away some of the sweat that had gathered on his forehead.

"Mr. Krillin…" Gohan whimpered. It was obvious that the man was in a lot of pain and was trying to endure it as cheerfully as possible.

"That's funny coming from a cripple!" Nappa sneered. "What can you do now in that state?"

"Masenko!" Piccolo and Gohan attacked simultaneously while Nappa's attention was on Krillin. Nappa easily deflected the assault.

'_Damnit!' _Piccolo's thoughts darted to Chi-Chi. _'How much longer?' _

It was done! Chi-Chi's pulse jumped in excitement and the energy in her arms shivered in response. Stifling the urge to shoot immediately, she stabilized her energy. _'Stay calm. Everyone's still okay.' _She pushed all of her focus onto her target. She couldn't get impatient, regardless of what was happening. If she missed, she would be as good as dead.

Vegeta glanced suspiciously at the woman. He had ignored her so far, having assumed that she had refrained from joining the fight out of fear, but the determined expression on her face said otherwise. When she raised her arms, clearly aiming her palms at Nappa, a smirk of amusement spread over his face. She had simply been preparing a technique. Based on his earlier observations of her abilities, there was nothing to worry about. It was highly unlikely that she would be able to generate enough power to affect Nappa. He frowned when his scouter beeped warningly from the ground. Frowning, he picked up the frantically flashing device and placed it on. His eyes widened.

"Nappa!" He barked. The man froze and turned to look at Vegeta. The others were already moving out of the way. It was exactly the moment Chi-Chi had been waiting for.

"Magni-striker!" Chi-Chi snarled. The effects were much more devastating than she, or anyone else had expected.

Nappa turned just an instant too late to dodge completely and instinctively swung his arm up to block. The beam ripped through the man's arm and exploded against the side of his stomach. Dust and smoke burst up from the explosion, swallowing Nappa's hunched, convulsing form.

"She did it!" Krillin gasped. Drained, Chi-Chi stumbled to her knees, her head drooping tiredly as she caught her breath.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. _'The fool let his guard down. He could have deflected that.' _He turned his attention to the exhausted woman. _'But where did all that power come from? There was no sign of it earlier…' _

A roar filled the air and Nappa clumsily stumbled out from the smoke. He stared at his arm, realized that he could see straight through the dripping wound in it, felt his stomach sting and wet lines slither down from the source of pain. Blood splashed in thick surges from the gaping wounds in his body to the ground below him. Rage widened-eyes flickered about hysterically in their sockets until they settled on Chi-Chi. He let out a scream of fury, baring slightly pointed teeth, which now resembled a messily painted red and white checkerboard.

Chi-Chi's eyes widened. Her magni-striker still hadn't been enough. She heard Krillin shout at her to move. _'Run.' _The word was in her mind, but she didn't even have the strength to stand.

Unnoticed by everyone, a man staggered to his feet some distance away.

"I'll kill you!" Nappa screamed, spraying blood and saliva. His wounds continued to bleed, but he seemed unaware of them. "How dare you- _you_ a weak, low-life bitch do this to me, an elite?" He bellowed. "I'll make it so there's nothing but a smear of you to show Kakarrot!" Multiple veins bulged up all over Nappa's body and thick waves of murderous energy burned the air around him. He raised a dangerously charged hand, solely focused on reducing the woman before him to ashes.

"No!" Gohan yelled, his legs already taking him to his mother's side.

"Stop! He'll kill you too!" Piccolo's hand reached out to snatch Gohan to prevent the boy's suicidal run, but he had moved a second too slowly and his fingernails scraped uselessly across the back of Gohan's shirt. "Gohan!" He ran after the boy.

"Die!" Nappa bellowed, oblivious to everything else except his target.

"Saiyan!" The wrenching scream startled everyone into stillness. "Take it- my revenge for Chaotsu and Yamcha!" Nappa, face still contorted with rage, turned to the owner of the enraged cry. With his mind clouded by fury and pain, he could not summon an effective defense quickly. Barely shielded by a thin layer of his energy, Nappa was engulfed by a cylinder of destructive light. The intense heat of the attack easily disintegrated his hastily formed barrier, rushed into his wounds and boiled his insides. Nappa screamed in agony, writhing wildly where he stood.

Gradually, the column of energy shrunk until there was nothing left of it. "I-impossible…" Nappa choked, smoke rising from his charred wounds and blackened tongue. "I- by you trash… humans… worms like y…" He collapsed face first into the ground and didn't move.

Tenshinhan, his left side a stumped, scorched mess of dark red and black, stood with his remaining hand outstretched, trembling from the effort of merely standing. He watched triumphantly as the behemoth man fell, before surrendering to his own desire to sleep.

"Tenshinhan!" Chi-Chi cried out. She tried to force her legs to move.

"Mommy!"

Chi-Chi grunted in surprise when a small body barreled into her side. "Gohan?" She said softly.

"You're okay." Gohan whispered. "I thought- but then Mr. Tenshinhan appeared and-"

"Yea. He saved my life." She said. She saw Krillin slowly approach the prone man and press two fingers against his neck. He raised his head and meeting her eyes, shook his head. "Tenshinhan…" Chi-Chi whispered. Her chest began to ache with guilt.

Everyone's heads shot up when laughter filled the air. Vegeta slowly clapped a few times. "Amazing. I never thought you earthlings would be able to kill Nappa."

"I-isn't he your comrade?" Krillin demanded. "How could you treat his death like a joke?"

Vegeta shook his head, still visibly amused. "I have no use for a fool that can be defeated by a group of weaklings."

"Bastard…" Krillin hissed. "You just wait until Goku arrives! He'll beat you for sure!"

"Goku?" Vegeta said curiously.

"Yeah! When my daddy comes, he'll make you sorry!" Gohan said.

Vegeta's eyes flickered to Gohan, before he grinned in realization. "Are you talking about Kakarrot?" Seeing them nod, he began to chuckle. "Are you serious? Kakarrot was a weakling, even more so than his brother. If he's your hope for survival, then you had all better be prepared to die."

"Goku has become much stronger in the past year!" Piccolo said.

"That's right! He's different from before!" Chi-Chi added.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Fine. Let's see how much he's improved. As your reward for killing my lieutenant, I'll give Kakarrot three hours to come here before I start killing all of you."

"What?" Krillin gasped.

"You're disgustin'…" Chi-Chi growled, glaring contemptuously at him.

"We accept!" Piccolo called out. He looked grimly at the battered group of warriors around him. _'We're not going to survive otherwise.' _

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**~o~o~o~**

**Author's Notes**

Hiya! And so ends the first part of the battle against the saiyans. I know this chapter is a lot shorter than the others considering how long I took, but with school starting up again, my priorities have naturally shifted.

Thanks to everyone for your kind and encouraging comments! I was really excited about finishing this chapter as a result!

Notes on Nappa's death? Expect more bad guys to be taken down in a team-work type fashion. I don't know why everyone in the show was so intent on fighting alone even outside the confines of the martial arts tournament. Ya, ya, manly pride, but come _on. _It's the fate of the world that's at stake! Who's really going to care if you gang up on some evil bastard who wants to destroy the world!

And while I'm on a rant, I'll mention that it also annoyed me how Goku always defeated _all _the bad guys alone. I KNOW it's for the effect of showing how strong he is and how strong the big bad boss is, but seriously!Goku can have all the major bad guys because he's the hero, but everyone should have a chance to shine.I totally think that Tenshinhan's very last attack, or at least Krillin's destructo disc should have taken Nappa out in the canon version. For my story, I chose Tenshinhan to have the honor of defeating him because it's quite moving how he literally did put _everything_ into his last attack. Also, in the anime, Vegeta mentions that Nappa would have been killed had he not noticed Tenshinhan's attack in time.

I got a request for power levels to be integrated into my story. I will be putting some in, but they'll mostly be inaccurate readings that the bad guys make. Numerical power levels don't really mean that much to the characters that can sense them on their own and it becomes a troublesome system later anyway once the power levels start shooting up into the millions (which might be the reason Toriyama scrapped them later on, but I don't know that for sure).


	6. The Agonizing Wait

**Dragonball Divergence by Tokinabi**

**Disclaimer: **Dragonball, Z and GT belong to Akira Toriyama and Toei. Some of the dialogue and plot points in this fanfic are from the Dragonball manga. The rest however, is my own work. This is simply a work of fiction for fun and not for the purposes of profit. The original bits of this fanfiction are mine though.

**Chapter 06: The Agonizing Wait**

**~o~o~o~**

_It had been dark for some time. Few noises broke the tranquility of the night. A cold wind rattled grass stalks and dry earth as it passed through. _

_A soft rustle filled Piccolo's sensitive ears. He glanced at his leg and found Gohan curled up against it, still asleep. The brat had probably been unconsciously drawn to the heat emanating from him since the fire had gone out. Piccolo reached out to push the boy away, and frowned in consternation when his hand remained suspended in the air only an inch from Gohan's head. _

'_Because we're friends.' Gohan had said. The boy didn`t know anything, didn`t realize how ridiculous he had sounded. Demons didn't make friends - particularly not with the offspring of their worst enemy. _

_The tips of his fingers lightly brushed Gohan's forehead and moved some wayward hairs out of his eyes._

'_Maybe I've done it anyway.' Piccolo mused with some regret. _

**~o~o~o~**

"How does that feel?" Chi-Chi asked as she finished wrapping up Krillin's arm.

"It's fine, thanks." He said, looking at the make-shift bandages Chi-Chi had made by tearing strips from the bottom edge of her shirt. "The bleeding's stopped. It's just a little sore."

"It's broken. And that's a generous way of sayin' it." Chi-Chi said. "You should be in a hospital right now!" _'What if you lose your arm?' _She kept the thought to herself and instead told him, "You shouldn't fight with that kind of injury!"

Krillin grinned and shook his head. "Being at the hospital isn't going to be much help if the world is blown up. I'm not leaving you guys; not while I can still help. Besides, what about you? That last attack of yours took a lot out of you, didn't it?" He said.

"I'll regain my strength soon." She said defensively. _'I'll only be useful for stallin' for time though.' _She looked at her hands, relieved to find them relatively undamaged. The last time she had used the magni-striker, her hands had suffered some minor burns.

"Hopefully we won't be in a situation where either of you will be required to fight." Piccolo said. "If Goku arrives within the next three hours then only Gohan and I will help him. You two would just get in the way."

"What a time for him to be late in the first place." Krillin sighed. He chuckled. "I really hope he's gotten strong enough to help us beat this guy."

"Knowin' him, he has." Chi-Chi said confidently. "He was probably trainin' every moment he had the chance."

Gohan nodded in agreement. "Yeah. When daddy comes, we'll be okay."

"_If _he comes in time. We should think of some back-up plans in case he fails to arrive before the three hours are up." Piccolo said.

"Do you have somethin' in mind?" Chi-Chi asked quietly.

"You think you can do that new technique of yours again?"

Gohan brightened at Piccolo's suggestion. "Yeah! That was amazing! I didn't know you could do that!" His eyes shone with admiration.

Chi-Chi smiled and ruffled her son's hair affectionately. "Thanks honey." Her expression became somber. She shook her head. "I won't be able to use it again though. I used up all my reserves just tryin' to kill that first guy." She sighed regretfully. "What about that special attack you used against that saiyan that came a year ago?" Chi-Chi asked. She couldn't bring herself to refer to Radditz as Goku's brother, disgusted as she was by his cruel personality.

Piccolo grimaced. "It might have been an effective weapon last year, but it won't be good enough now."

Chi-Chi pressed her lips together thoughtfully. "Do you think you could use your destructo disc again?" She asked, turning to Krillin.

"I can do it with one hand, but what good will it be if I can't hit him? The big guy was able to dodge it, remember?"

"We'll have to distract him somehow." Piccolo said. He frowned. "I doubt it'll be that easy though. This one seems to be a lot smarter than his friend."

"What about his tail?" Krillin said. "It worked on that other guy didn't it?"

Chi-Chi shook her head. "Even if one of us could get behind him and grab his tail, it's not a reliable plan. If he gets desperate enough, he could just cut off his own tail." She inwardly winced in remembrance of what had happened to her when she had held Radditz by the tail to immobilize him. "This time, someone might end up dead tryin' that."

"Damnit…we don't have a lot of options." Krillin grumbled.

"There's another three hours to think of some." Piccolo said. "Let's not waste it complaining."

**~o~o~o~**

"I hate this." Bulma said tensely, fidgeting with agitation. Her fingers tapped loudly against the table. She, Launch, Roshi, Puar, Oolong and Ox King had gathered at the Kame house to wait together until the fight concluded.

"Me too." Launch said darkly. "Just sitting here waiting…not knowing what's going on- it's hell." Her hands tightened into fists. "Shit-" She stood up abruptly. "I'm going!"

"Goin'?" Ox King looked at her questioningly, eyebrows drawing together with concern. "What do you mean?"

"To where the fight is!" Launch declared as she walked to the door.

"What?" Everyone else gasped.

"There's no way I'm gonna just sit here and wait until they're finished!" Launch said. "I gotta know what's going on and I'm gonna find out!"

"I'll go with you! We can find them using this!" Bulma held up the scouter she had taken from Radditz's corpse.

"What are you saying? You'll get killed!" Oolong protested.

"Please don't go!" Puar pleaded, floating in front of Bulma.

"It's better than just staying here!" Launch growled.

"Stop!" Roshi snapped. He stood up. "Calm down both of you!"

"Don't try to stop us old man!" Launch growled. Her green eyes flashed angrily. "Those are our friends out there and you expect us to just sit here while they're risking their lives for us?"

"It's because they're risking their lives that we have to stay here!" Roshi retorted. "We'd just get in the way! You really think our friends want that? I know how you feel, but there's nothing we can do for them except stay here and wait!"

"So you're saying that we should just hide and hope for the best? What good is that?" Bulma demanded.

"It's the only thing we can do." Ox King said from the table. Everyone turned to look at him. His head was bowed low over his tightly clasped hands. "We may have been able to help in the past…but things are different now. I wish I could be there too, protectin' my baby girl…but she's the one who'd end up protectin' me if I went." He said forlornly. "It's difficult to accept, but…I have to. Especially 'cause I know that if our roles were reversed, I'd want Chi-Chi to be somewhere safe, out of harm's way, while I fought an enemy that threatened her life."

Bulma looked at the floor miserably, her expression crestfallen. Launch stepped away from the door to signal that she had given up, but her fists stayed tightly clenched at her sides.

"Damn it." Launch growled. There was a tinge of sadness in her furious voice. She slammed her fist against the wall she was leaning against. "When did we become so damn _useless?_"

**~o~o~o~**

Vegeta's eyes opened when his scouter flickered and beeped. He stood and pressed a button on the device to shut off the alarm. "Looks like that coward decided not to come after all."

"My daddy isn't a coward!" Gohan shouted indignantly.

"Shit…he didn't make it." Piccolo growled.

Chi-Chi stood and stretched to relax her muscles and ease her nervousness. She had regained some of her strength, but she still felt uncomfortably weary. "I guess we'll be goin' ahead with the plan then." She crouched, preparing herself to run.

"Are you all ready?" Piccolo asked lowly.

"Yeah." Chi-Chi, Krillin and Gohan answered simultaneously.

"Go!" Piccolo barked.

Piccolo, Gohan and Krillin leaped in different directions while Chi-Chi let out a battle cry – mostly to get Vegeta's undivided attention – as she charged at the saiyan. She mentally ran through her objectives. _'Completely engage his sight, hearin' and that scouter of his too…I hope this works-' _Chi-Chi threw an energy beam, aiming for Vegeta's scouter. The saiyan tilted his head and didn't react as her shot flew right by his ear.

"That was pathetic at best." Vegeta remarked. "If you want to kill me it will take something much more powerful than what you used to weaken Nappa."

Chi-Chi's eyes narrowed. "Don't worry. You'll definitely get yours."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" The ground underneath him exploded as a spiraling orange beam smashed into it. "I don't even need my scouter to avoid such slow attacks!" Vegeta called out from where he was floating. He smoothly shifted to his left and Gohan's blast rushed harmlessly past him. Gohan grimaced with disappointment but powered up again in preparation for his next move.

"All of you at the same time now?" Vegeta said as his scouter showed three separate power levels rising around him. He crossed his arms and smirked. "I won't even need to dodge this!"

Piccolo, Gohan and Chi-Chi simultaneously released their attacks. Vegeta remained confidently still as the attacks collided into him from all sides.

"Now!" Piccolo shouted.

"Destructo disc!" Krillin leaped out from behind a boulder and hurled the spinning circular blade at the center of the explosion – where he sensed Vegeta's unmistakable energy signature.

They all shielded their eyes as the roaring eruption of their combined powers continued to shoot unpredictable bursts of heat and smoke. The destructo disc sliced out from the opposite side it had entered the explosion's core before shrinking and dissipating completely.

"Did it work?" Chi-Chi whispered as her eyes frantically searched through the evaporating smoke.

"Very clever," a voice growled. Everyone whipped around in shock, and stared in the direction the voice had come from. Vegeta glared at the bewildered group of fighters. One of the pointed shoulder pads of his armor had been sliced off completely, but he had no visible wounds. "-distracting all of my senses and my scouter by using flashy, wide-ranged blasts that would guarantee a large explosion upon impact."

"He…dodged it." Krillin mumbled in disbelief. "He was right there…I sensed him there and he was still able to move fast enough to avoid it?"

"It might have worked had I not realized that there might be a reason why only you three were attacking me." Vegeta said. He chuckled. "You earthlings are slier than you look. But enough talk." Vegeta said, his mouth stretching into a menacing grin. "It's my turn now."

**~o~o~o~**

"I'm here!" Goku exclaimed as he sprinted through the doorway of the check-in station.

**~o~o~o~**

"Amazing! He's already reached the end of Snake Way!" North Kai marveled proudly.

**~o~o~o~**

Kami's eyes widened. "Goku has arrived!" Concentrating, he shifted from the living plane to the afterlife dimension, just as Goku sprinted into the check-in office. "Goku!" Kami held out his hand.

"Right!" Goku caught the outstretched hand and the two disappeared from the other world check-in station and materialized an instant later at Kami's Lookout. "Thank you!" Goku called out as he rushed off the edge of the Lookout.

"Good luck Goku!" Kami said.

**~o~o~o~**

"Goku! Take these! The last senzu beans!" Korin threw a small brown pouch to the man as he flew by. "Use one to recover your strength!" He called out.

"Thank you!" Goku said as he passed the open section of the cat's tower. He ate one of the senzus, gratified when his exhaustion evaporated in an instant. "Nimbus!" He called out. A golden yellow cloud ended his freefall to earth and propelled him to the battle grounds.

**~o~o~o~**

Piccolo gave a growl as he barely moved clear of another potentially lethal shot. So far, none of them had been able to move quickly enough to attack. All they had been able to do was defend themselves. Moreover, it looked like Vegeta was only playing with them.

Vegeta fixed his eyes on Chi-Chi and pointed at her.

Chi-Chi leaped sideways as soon as she realized she was in Vegeta's line of sight. She had been a millisecond too late. A slim line of energy ripped through her shoulder. Collapsing, she screamed in agony, curling on her side and clutching the searing wound.

"Oh? Not bad. That was supposed to hit your heart." Vegeta remarked. "You're faster than I thought."

"Mommy!" Gohan cried out. He sprinted toward her.

"Watch out!" Piccolo grabbed the boy by his arm and yanked him out of the way of another beam that would have punctured his chest. "Don't lose your head!" He snapped.

"B-but-" Gohan stammered, looking at his mother. He glared at Vegeta who was watching them with pronounced amusement.

"You can only help her if you're alive!" Piccolo snarled. "Don't throw your life away recklessly in some brainless move!" He took a deep breath in an attempt to steady his frantically beating heart. Piccolo wasn't sure if it was fury or fright that was making his blood race. "Look." He murmured lowly. "He's playing with us. He hasn't killed her – I think he wants to do that once Goku comes, so calm down!"

"Yes Mr. Piccolo." Gohan said in a small voice, nodding to show he understood what he was saying.

Chi-Chi swallowed back another scream when she heard Gohan calling to her. She wondered how much longer it would be until Vegeta became bored and just killed them all. The difference in power was too great. Grimacing, she struggled to her feet. She gritted her teeth as she pressed a hand firmly against her shoulder wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding. "Goku." She said softly. "Where-" Her eyes widened when a large power suddenly registered in her sixth sense. Elation rushed through her when she recognized the life force. "Ah! That's-!" She looked up expectantly.

"What's that enormous power?" Piccolo demanded, looking around. Realization washed over his face. "It's Goku! I should have known that idiot would make us wait!"

"Daddy's here!" Gohan cried out ecstatically.

"Kakarrot?" Vegeta pressed a button on his scouter to activate it. He froze as he stared at the reading on the screen. "Five thousand?" He hissed. "How could that third class trash improve so much in one year?" He leveled a cold look at the group before him. "Looks like you were right about Kakarrot. However, that means it might be troublesome if all of you are alive when he comes."

"If you kill Piccolo, you won't have the dragonballs anymore!" Chi-Chi said quickly.

Vegeta laughed. "This slug isn't the only one of his kind in the universe. Now…who should I kill first?"

"Run Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan shouted. Piccolo turned bewildered eyes on Gohan.

"What?"

"You have to stay alive so that we can use the dragonballs!" Gohan said. He glared fiercely at Vegeta. "I-I'll stay behind and fight!"

Once he recovered from his surprise, Piccolo chuckled and shook his head. "Don't be a fool. I have no intention of leaving this battle, especially not to a group of half dead fighters."

"You should listen to him." Chi-Chi said. "If you die, then the others are lost forever. Gohan, you should go too."

"I'm not leaving!" Gohan said adamantly.

"There won't even be a point to having the dragonballs if the world is destroyed." Piccolo growled. "I'm staying."

"That's fine and all, but what are we gonna do now?" Krillin asked miserably. "He was just playing with us before and we were barely able to keep up with him."

Chi-Chi shook her head. "I don't know." She said wearily. Blood had soaked the fabric around her wound and more seemed to be seeping through her fingers. She shook her head to clear some of the dizziness that had begun to trouble her. "If he's decided to kill us then…all we can do is try and survive."

Piccolo smirked. "In other words, we're going to be slaughtered."

The thoughtful look faded from Vegeta's face. "Entertaining as it is, being precise might take too long." He aimed his palm at the group. "This way will be much faster."

"Move!" Piccolo shouted as Vegeta released his attack. Piccolo and Gohan immediately launched themselves in the air. Chi-Chi and Krillin didn't react as quickly and both barely escaped the blast. Stray bursts of energy whipped off the explosion, slamming into the fighters and scattering them.

Chi-Chi held back a cry of pain as she pushed herself up. Thick drops of blood spilled to the ground before her. Pressing a hand to her wound, she checked herself for other injuries. She found a tear in the side of her pants. Through the ragged hole she could see a thick line of burnt skin running horizontally across her thigh. _'It's not serious. Where are the others?'_ She looked around frantically. Krillin lay nearby, unmoving. She scrambled to his side and checked his pulse. It felt strong under her fingers and he was breathing evenly. She gave a sigh of relief. Krillin's arm still looked terrible though and had begun to bleed again. She winced. There was nothing she could do – right now they had to concentrate on surviving. She began to look for Gohan. She caught sight of him some distance away. It looked like he was having difficulty standing.

"You earthlings really are quite tenacious." Vegeta said, sounding mildly irritated. He looked at Gohan who appeared to be wobbling on his feet. "But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that even you managed to avoid that. You do have saiyan blood after all." Vegeta drew energy into his hand.

"Gohan! Get up!" Piccolo shouted.

Gohan shook his head in an attempt to clear the fogginess from his mind. He winced at the sharp pain that followed the motion and held the back of his head. _'I must have hit a rock or something…it hurts…' _His breath caught when his senses began to scream of danger. He spun around and faced Vegeta in horrified realization.

"See ya, brat." Vegeta let loose a lethal wave of energy that scorched the air with its heat.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi screamed. Her heart contracted and her throat seemed to close. She wouldn't make it; she was too far away to reach him in time-

Gohan's eyes widened and he stared, transfixed, at the twisting storm of light incinerating everything in its path as it surged toward him. His body refused to listen to his silent commands to move and he thought for certain that he would die at that moment.

Suddenly the air seemed to cool and familiar shades of purple and green filled his vision. Gohan cried out in shock just as the onslaught began and from then on there was only an eternity within seconds of screaming.

**~o~o~o~**

Bulma inhaled sharply, dropping the picture frame she had been holding. The frame's cheap cardboard backing bounced against the floor with a dull thump.

"You okay?"

Bulma nodded in response to Launch's question as she leaned down to pick up the picture. It was a photo of their group after the twenty-third martial arts tournament. They had looked so carefree, so happy in the aftermath of Goku's battle with Piccolo. They had all been under the impression that Piccolo would be the only threat to look out for in the future and if the time came, Goku would be able to overcome the evil. Now their future looked frighteningly murky. "Yeah…I'm fine." She said softly. "Just…had a bad feeling for a second." Lines of worry appeared between her eyebrows and she distractedly smoothed them away with the pads of her fingers. _'Yamcha. Everyone…please be okay.' _

**~o~o~o~**

'_Another life force is fadin' away!' _"Come on Nimbus!"Goku urged anxiously. He squeezed the bag containing the last senzu for reassurance. '_Hang on everyone!' _Goku pleaded silently.

**~o~o~o~**

When Piccolo came to, it seemed that a lot of time had already passed. Something shifted underneath his left shoulder. His eyes focused on a messy bundle of black hair. _'Gohan.' _If they were both alive, then it hadn't been long at all. The saiyan would have blown up the planet already. Or Goku would have arrived already."Gohan!" He hissed.

"Mr. Piccolo?" Relief flooded him when the boy finally responded.

"Oh? They're still alive." Vegeta remarked. "I must have underestimated their power levels."

Chi-Chi stared at Piccolo in disbelief. _'Piccolo sacrificed himself…for Gohan's sake?' _

"Run…Gohan." Piccolo growled with visible effort. He tried to push himself up but a bolt of pain that made all his nerve endings scream protests ended the attempt. Gohan shifted weakly.

"I-I can't…move." Gohan whimpered. "I think…I think my legs are-" And Piccolo realized that the blood he felt soaking through his shirt wasn't just his.

"Shit." He knocked his head against the ground in self-reproach. "I'm sorry kid…I fucked up big time…and now I'm not going to be around to help."

"Don't talk like that!" Gohan cried out, his eyes welling up with tears. "Daddy will be here soon, I know it, and he'll beat that guy and we'll get help for you and- and…_please_ Mr. Piccolo, just hold on!" He grasped his shirt tightly, as though his hands alone could anchor Piccolo to the living world.

"Gohan…" Piccolo murmured, acutely aware of how quickly he was slipping away. "You're the first person who ever really talked to me. The few months with you weren't bad." Hissing from the effort, Piccolo dragged his hand up and rested it on Gohan's head. "Thanks kid." Piccolo said, chuckling weakly as his eyes fell shut. A tear escaped down his cheek. "Don't die…Goh-"

The boy stiffened. Piccolo's hand was still on his head, but the familiar hum of his life force was no longer there, no longer anywhere he could reach. Gohan bit his bottom lip hard. His eyes blurred, overflowing with the irrepressible wave of his sorrow and unable to choke back his grief, he screamed. He pushed his face into Piccolo's shoulder and sobbed.

"Gohan…" Chi-Chi whispered, realizing for the first time how important Piccolo had become to him in the past year. And somehow Piccolo, the fearsome demon that had tried to kill them all, had developed similar feelings for her son. She could scarcely believe it, even after witnessing Piccolo's sacrifice.

"There's no need to cry brat. You'll be joining your friend soon." Vegeta said. Gohan ignored him, overcome with the sudden and terrible weight of his grief.

"You monster!" Chi-Chi shouted. She hurled a hastily formed energy sphere at the saiyan in hopes of snatching his focus from Gohan. Vegeta didn't even bother to dodge and let the attack shatter harmlessly against his head. He chuckled as he leveled an amused glance at her. Looking utterly relaxed, he raised his hand so it was aimed at Gohan and Piccolo. Chi-Chi's heart thundered painfully in her chest.

"No!" She choked out. "Stop it!" She stumbled to her feet and staggered towards Vegeta. "He's just a child! Leave him alone!" She froze when the palm of his other hand faced her.

"It's truly a pity Kakarott won't be able to see me kill either of you." Vegeta said. "I'll have to settle for the look on his face when I show him your remains."

A cold sweat broke out over her and Chi-Chi darted a fleeting look at Gohan who couldn't use his legs to flee and had to lie in the growing pool of his and Piccolo's blood. Gritting her teeth she glared furiously at the saiyan.

"Such a hateful gaze." Vegeta remarked. "But you should be showing it to Kakarott. It's his fault for abandoning you." His hands began to glow. "Any last words?"

"Burn in hell!" Chi-Chi spat. She had barely finished speaking before she was swallowed up by a hurricane that incinerated everything around her.

*** * * TO BE CONTINUED * * ***

**Author's Notes**

**I love** cliffhangers, don't you? Haha, well it's an even SHORTER chapter than the last, but I figured I'd stick something out for the New Year! So…Happy New Year!

Thanks for your comments, compliments and criticisms! Actually, about that: I got quite a few reviews suggesting I refine my fighting scenes, so as a favor, can you guys point out passages that could be better (details on what you would have liked to see) and also perhaps give references that I could look at, for a clearer idea of how I can improve? I will mention here in case you were afraid to speak up before, that I don't mind being critiqued about my writing. I'm always happy to receive advice on how to improve my skills. After all, improvement = more readers. XD! Yes, this is a selfish request on my part!

I also got a question about my missing 'g's when some of the characters talk. Ie.: Goin', comin', waitin' etc… The reason for all these missing g's is to indicate a country accent. Only Chi-Chi, Goku, Ox King should be using this manner of speech, since they do have a country accent in the original Japanese. This is probably something I should have mentioned in the first chapter. Sorry about that.

I admittedly lightened the accent because I would have gone crazy trying to emulate a strong country accent and I think it would have driven you guys crazy trying to read that too. The funny thing is that Gohan doesn't share the same accent as his parents. I'm guessing the reason for that is because he is formally educated from a young age and spends a great deal of his time with Piccolo who has a more conventional manner of speech.

I also went back and corrected some of the missing 'g's from places they shouldn't have been. I try to catch them when I edit my writings, but I don't always get them all…

I should mention here, so this doesn't turn into something offensive, that I absolutely do not correlate southern/country/whatever-you-call-it accents with a lack of education. The accent is evidently just one of the ways Toriyama distinguished Goku, Chi-Chi and her father as people from the country.

In non-fanfic related news, I saw Sherlock Holmes when it came out. It was nothing short of AWESOME. Especially Holmes and Watson – I was pretty much laughing throughout every one of their interactions_. _It's like watching an old married couple that has been together for a looonnnnggg time and they know it.


	7. Battle for Survival

**Dragonball Divergence by Tokinabi**

**Disclaimer: **Dragonball, Z and GT belong to Akira Toriyama and Toei. Some of the dialogue and plot points in this fanfic are from the Dragonball manga. The rest however, is my own work. This is simply a work of fiction for fun and not for the purposes of profit.

**Chapter 07: Battle for Survival**

-x-x-x-

"_Whew! Let's take a break!" Chi-Chi wiped her forehead wearily. Her clothes were soaked through with sweat and the intense afternoon sun was making her sleepy. _

"_I'm gonna keep goin'." Goku said, sounding only a little winded. _

"_Goku! One little break isn't goin' to hurt you!" Chi-Chi said, stalking to him and grabbing his wrist. "And as my husband you should spend some time with me outside of trainin__' so we can get to know each other better__!" _

"_Okay, okay." Goku chuckled and allowed himself to be dragged to the shady area his wife wanted to rest. They sat underneath a large tree. Chi-Chi yanked off her shoes and began to fan herself. _

"_Why do you love fightin' so much anyway?" She asked. "I mean, I love it too, but I think you'd do it forever if you could."_

"_It's fun!" He grinned at her cheerfully. _

_She raised an eyebrow. "That's it? There's no other reason?" _

"_Another reason?" Goku repeated. His brow furrowed as he considered his response. "Well…I just…feel comfortable doin' it. It's like…the feelin' of bein' home I guess. It's hard to explain 'cause I've never really thought about it." _

"_I think I get it." Chi-Chi said. _

"_Yeah?"_

"_Yeah." _

"_Why do you like fightin'?" _

"_Me? I think it's fun too…and it's always been a big part of my life. I was taught how to fight so I could protect myself, but I came to love it. I learned discipline through it, played games with it and it helped me through some tough times. I can't imagine not havin' it in my life." Her eyes softened. "And __now __I'm happy for this strength because I want to stand beside you in battle." Chi-Chi slid her hand through the grass between them and threaded her fingers through his. She met his eyes. "__You're really important to me you know__." _

_Goku's face reddened and he looked away shyly. "Th-thanks." He stuttered, unable to think of anything else to say. _

_Chi-Chi giggled__, having expected such a reaction__. "Anytime." _

-x-x-x-

A burst of cold wind rolled over her skin. Chi-Chi opened her eyes slowly, wondering where she was. Her skin stung as if she had been in the sun too long. She was floating high above a patch of scorched ground. Someone's arm was around her waist. Her eyes filled with tears when she recognized the boots of her rescuer.

"Whew, that was close!" Goku whistled.

"Daddy!" Gohan cried out from under Goku's other arm.

Chi-Chi looked up into her husband's face, swallowing back a sob. It had been nearly a year since she last saw him. Pushing away her desire to burst into ecstatic tears, she frowned without any real anger. "You're late!" She scolded.

"I know…I'm sorry." Goku said guiltily. "The others…and Piccolo too…"

"Piccolo died protecting me!" Gohan burst out, eyes moist. "And I couldn't do anything…" He said in a small voice.

"Gohan. I'm proud of you." Goku said firmly. "You did your best and even Piccolo couldn't ask for more."

Gohan didn't say anything and simply stared forlornly at the ground as they floated down. Once they had landed, Goku gently let go of Chi-Chi and Gohan. His expression hardened when he noticed the blood smudged on his arms and after he had assessed his wife and son's injuries he visibly tensed.

"Goku." Chi-Chi said, snapping him out of his brief bout of anger. "It's not just us…Krillin is over-" She blinked when the spot she had pointed to was suddenly empty, "there…"

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. _'He's fast.' _

"He'll be okay." Goku said as he lay Krillin down beside Chi-Chi. She looked at him in bewilderment.

"How did you…?"

"My trainin' with King Kai was great!" Goku grinned. "I became a lot stronger than I was before!"

"Th-that's great." Everyone looked down at the owner of the voice. "Krillin!" Chi-Chi gasped. She put a hand on his shoulder when the man struggled to get up. "Don't. You're badly hurt."

"G-Goku…that guy…is just too strong." Krillin rasped. "We couldn't...do anything."

"Don't worry." Goku said. He reached into the small brown bag at his side and pulled out a senzu bean. Goku's hand glowed briefly before he opened it. "I've got a senzu. Three pieces - one for each of you." He pushed one piece into Krillin's mouth and passed another to Gohan. When he offered the last piece to Chi-Chi, she shook her head and pushed it back to him.

"Save it for later." She said. "Krillin wasn't makin' things up when he said that guy is strong. We were powerless against him. All we could do was run for our lives and hope we would survive. If it weren't for Piccolo…and then for you…we'd all be dead now." She said grimly. "You'll _need_ that senzu."

"It's for you." He insisted. "Besides, you're bleedin' all over the place." Goku gave her a semi-stern look and held the bean out to her again. "If you don't, I'll just throw it away." She knew that look. Goku meant what he had said. Sighing, she took the senzu fragment. She put it to her mouth, then paused and opened her hand. Narrowing her eyes in concentration she used a bit of her energy to slice her senzu fragment in half.

"Chi-Chi-" Goku began, looking mildly frustrated.

"Don't start." She said, cutting him off. "I'm not that badly hurt and if we're gonna be fightin' that guy, there's a good chance one of us'll need it." And having spoken she pocketed one of the senzu pieces and ate the other. As soon as she had swallowed, she could feel the hole in her shoulder closing up. When she looked at it only an ugly black bruise was left. Her shoulder still hurt but she could move it now.

Laughing Krillin stood up, flexing his arm, dark with bruises, but otherwise healed. "This is great! Now we can fight that guy together!"

Chi-Chi nodded. "Yeah. This time we might have a chance."

"Actually I was plannin' on fightin' him alone." Goku said.

"What?" Chi-Chi, Krillin and Gohan yelped together.

"You must be joking!" Krillin moved in front of his friend. "He's way too strong!"

"Maybe. But I gotta try anyway." Goku said. "I've gotten a lot stronger in the past year. Even if it isn't enough, I still have some special techniques I can fall back on."

"But-" Gohan began to protest until Chi-Chi stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. She met Goku's eyes when he turned to look at her. She knew he would go, regardless of what she said. Now wasn't the time to let her fears overpower her judgment like they had before. She could feel some of Goku's new strength surging deep within his being. He was different from before. She didn't know if he would be able to match Vegeta, but if she, Gohan and Krillin got involved, they would only get in the way.

"Good luck." She said firmly. Gohan and Krillin gasped in disbelief.

Goku grinned. "Thanks." He walked past Krillin, broad shoulders squared and posture confidently relaxed. He stopped a few feet from Vegeta. "Let's take this somewhere else." Goku called out.

Vegeta smirked, crossing his arms. "Still trying to protect those weaklings? Well, no matter. Lead the way Kakarrot. It makes no difference to me where and when all of you die."

Choosing not to comment Goku rose into the air and took off towards a section of the desert densely populated by tall cliffs. His eyes flickered back to Vegeta who was following him with an expression of utter ease. _'He isn't havin' any trouble keepin' up with me… This'll probably be a lot tougher than I thought.' _

Vegeta's mind was also on his opponent. He eyed Goku critically as he tried to gauge the man's strength. _'He was able to save both his mate and child from my simultaneous attacks without sustaining any injuries. If the scouter was correct, his power is over nine thousand.' _He frowned. _'He couldn't even oppose Radditz before. How did he improve so much in one year?' _

"This should be far enough." Goku stopped his flight and landed on one of the many rock pillars in the area.

Vegeta followed suit and descended onto a cliff nearby. _'Nine thousand might not even be his peak. He's probably hiding the true extent of his abilities like the rest of the earthlings did. My scouter will be a liability in this fight." _He took the scouter off and dropped it.

Goku crouched into a fighting stance at the same time Vegeta slid into his own. _'He's completely relaxed…No tension in his body, not even a ripple in his energy…' _He was unable to stop the grin from overtaking his face as excitement began to buzz in his veins. _'This is gonna be one hell of a fight.' _

-x-x-x-

"We'd better get going." Krillin said. He made a strangled noise of exasperation when he noticed the identical looks on Chi-Chi and Gohan's faces as they stared in the direction Goku had gone. "Staying here won't do anything. Besides, Goku told us to go back to Kame house without him."

"You and Gohan go back." Chi-Chi said.

Krillin rolled his eyes. "Like I said-"

"I know what you said." Chi-Chi interrupted. "But there's no way I'm leavin' him behind."

"We couldn't help him anyway!" Krillin protested. "You saw how much Goku improved, didn't you? He's on an entirely different level than us now!"

Chi-Chi shook her head. "I'm not goin' to fight. That would be crazy. But this battle will be real rough and when it's over, I'm goin' to be here for Goku."

Krillin sighed and murmured something that Chi-Chi thought sounded suspiciously like 'stubborn, crazy woman' under his breath and threw his hands up in the air in surrender. "Fine. We'll wait."

"I said, _me_, not we." Chi-Chi said, looking pointedly at Gohan.

"I want to be here for daddy too!" Gohan quickly said.

"And you're both more stubborn than I can handle." Krillin said, sounding exhausted. "Let's just save ourselves the hassle and agree that none of us are leaving."

Chi-Chi inhaled in preparation to launch another argument as to why only she needed to stay behind, when a sudden massive spike in Goku and Vegeta's energies jolted her senses.

-x-x-x-

"Kaio-ken…times three!" Goku shouted. He gritted his teeth and concentrated as energy filled his body, stretching his muscles unnaturally. He hoped he would be able to handle it. King Kai had told him that while the kaio-ken technique would multiply his power by however much he summoned with the limit of twenty times his normal power, even a single error in the manipulation of his energy would result in the destabilization of his body's matter and he would explode. For that reason King Kai had forbidden him to use anything above the second level of the technique.

Vegeta was still too strong for him to defeat at that level though.

Breathing slowly to aid his focus, Goku willed the sudden rushing deluge of power to slow and spill evenly throughout his body. He extended his palm out and released some of the nearly unbearable torrent that threatened to burst his flesh.

Vegeta barely leapt clear of the blast, shock etched in his face at his opponent's abrupt increase in power. Goku charged after him and pummeled Vegeta's midsection with hits the saiyan prince could scarcely see, much less defend against.

Eyes widened and red-veined with rage, Vegeta aimed a lethal spike of energy at Goku's head and swung with sharp accuracy. Sensing the danger immediately, Goku ducked his head and the blast shaved off a few wayward hairs. Springing forward from his crouch, he rushed at Vegeta again and slammed his heel into his jaw. Feeling the end of the kaio-ken's effect near, Goku grabbed Vegeta's ankle while he was still reeling from his previous hit, yanking him in the opposite direction of his flight and swung him into the side of a cliff.

The kaio-ken dispersed. His muscles seized. Letting out a bark of pain, Goku winced and hunched over. Every part of his body hurt. His muscles began the painstaking process of slowly relaxing after a short but intense interval of abuse. He wanted nothing more than to just lay back and take a long nap until he recovered, but he knew it would be a while before he would have that luxury. Trepidation filled him as he eyed Vegeta's half-buried form. He was weakened from the beating, but Goku knew Vegeta would be up again in moments and livid.

Sure enough, Vegeta burst up from the rocks. His eyes darted to where Goku stood and he snarled furiously, his tail whipping erratically behind him. "You're only a third class piece of trash!" He screamed, stalking towards him.

Goku chuckled, unable to stop himself. "Then this must be a little embarrasin' for you." He knew that the words would only fuel Vegeta's homicidal fury, but he doubted he had been planning to let him live in the first place, so it hardly mattered what he said now.

To his surprise, Vegeta simply stopped in his tracks and seemed to calm. The left side of his mouth tipped up into a grin that triggered warning alarms in Goku's head. "Celebrate this tiny victory while you still breathe, Kakarrot. In moments I will crush you into paste with one hand."

"I'd like to see you try." Goku said, doing his best to suppress the trembling of his exhausted and pained body.

Vegeta chuckled menacingly. "I noticed some time before my landing here that this planet lacks a moon, contrary to the information I was given. You destroyed it, didn't you, in an attempt to prevent Nappa and I from accessing our greater forms? Especially since you can never use yours again."

"What?" Goku asked, wondering if he had missed some of the conversation without realizing it.

"Don't play stupid! Only you could have known about the moon's effect on us! But you miscalculated, fool. I don't need a moon to transform. I can create a substitute!" Vegeta snarled. A sphere of white energy came together in his hand. Goku tensed, readying himself to dodge. To his disbelief, Vegeta threw the energy ball high into the air.

'_What's he doin'?' _Goku wondered, mind scrambling for possible explanations for the seemingly irrational waste of energy.

Vegeta closed his hand into a fist. The ball expanded into a brightly shining disc in the air that resembled an unusually bright moon. "Prepare yourself Kakarrot!" Vegeta roared as his teeth lengthened in his grotesquely stretching mouth and curved into fangs. Goku's jaw dropped when Vegeta suddenly tripled in size, sprouted brown fur all over his body and continued to grow.

"A monster that appears during the full moon…" Goku suddenly recalled his grandfather's warning to him as a child. It wasn't just a story his grandfather had made up to make sure he went to bed on time, he realized. And it made sense that Goku had never seen the monster and had always slept through its rampages - including the time it brutally murdered his grandfather.

Goku remembered finding his grandfather Gohan's barely recognizable remains; it had been difficult to collect them in his violently shivering hands and even more so to let them go. Somehow he had placed Gohan's body in a proper grave and had stayed by it for days in an inconsolable state of grief.

"It was my fault…" Goku murmured. A sick feeling accompanied by the familiar burn of an old grief squeezed his chest and stomach. "The monster Grandpa was talkin' about…" He ground his teeth together. "The one who killed him…" He shut his eyes. _'I'm sorry grandpa. When I see you again, I'll apologize to you properly. 'Til then…'_

Goku forcefully pushed away all thoughts of his depressing revelation as he leapt to higher ground. _'This isn't good…I thought it was weird that he used up so much of his power makin' that weird ball of light, but his power has increased by ten!' _

"Fleeing is useless!" Vegeta shouted.

Goku had just enough time to let out a choked gasp before a gigantic hand smashed his entire body into a pillar. 

-x-x-x-

Chi-Chi's eyes narrowed. "What's that?" She said curiously. It felt like Vegeta's malevolent energy, but it was just hanging in the air and glowing with no discernable purpose.

"What could he be planning?" Krillin murmured, frowning perplexedly as he stared at the shining sphere.

"It's…so bright…" Gohan mumbled, staring wide-eyed at the gleaming orb as it pulsed hypnotically…or was it his own body thrumming to that strange, but familiar rhythm…?

"Gohan? Are you okay?" Chi-Chi asked, looking at her son who had begun to perspire and was breathing heavily. His eyes remained fixed on the ball of light in the air. "Go…han?" Chi-Chi called his name again hesitantly. She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Chi-Chi!" Krillen yelled. "Get away from him!"

"What? Why?" She turned to look at him. Taking her eyes off Gohan turned out to be a mistake. Something suddenly belted her in the stomach and sent her flying through the air. Chi-Chi slammed into the ground, scraping her leg raw when she slid a few feet across the rocky terrain. Coughing violently, she pushed herself up, staring at him in disbelief. "Gohan! Wh-" She stopped when she fully registered her son's appearance. Long fangs protruded from his mouth and he seemed to be growing before her eyes. "What's happenin' to you? Krillin!" She turned and saw him in the midst of stumbling back, shaking fearfully. "What's goin' on with Gohan! Tell me! You know somethin' don't you!"

"This shouldn't even be happening!" Krillin yelped. "I thought Piccolo cut-" His eyes widened. "The senzu must have made it grow back! I guess the wound from getting his tail cut off wasn't quite healed and eating the senzu just- just fixed it!" H-he's not going to be himself- it must be that strange ball of light in the sky! He's not supposed to transform unless there's a full moon!"

"Transform into what?" Chi-Chi demanded.

"He's transforming into a giant monkey." Krillin quickly admitted.

"He transforms into a giant monkey when there's a full moon? Why didn't anyone ever tell me this?" Chi-Chi shrieked. "Why didn't Goku say anythin' either?"

"He didn't know." Krillin said quickly. He looked past Chi-Chi nervously when Gohan let out an inhuman roar and thrashed about as his body stretched and altered. "Whenever he transformed, he wouldn't have any memory of it. We can talk about this later, right now we have to run!" He took off in a sprint, heading towards the area where Goku and Vegeta were fighting. Vegeta's power level had suddenly leaped up and Krillin had no doubt it was the result of him undergoing the same transformation Gohan was.

Chi-Chi followed, still frowning with disapproval. "You didn't think this was important information?" She demanded as she dashed beside him. "I mean, sure we all go to sleep before the moon comes out, but what if Gohan decided to stay up a little later for once? Were you gonna tell us AFTER we got killed?" She shouted.

"Can we _please_ talk about this later?" Krillin whined. "Like, when we're not running for our lives?"

"We're runnin' for our lives _because_ you didn't talk to me!" Chi-Chi snarled.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Krillin shouted. "It was stupid of me, okay? Right now, we have other problems to deal with!"

"Fine. I guess there's no use in gripin' about the past now…" Chi-Chi grudgingly let go of the issue. She narrowed her eyes at the fake moon. "All we have to do is destroy that thing, right?" Her power level rose in response to her intentions.

"Wait!" Krillin said quickly. "Don't destroy it!"

"What- why?" Chi-Chi asked in disbelief.

"You can sense it too, right? To destroy it, we would have to use most of our power and we'd hardly be in any shape to fight after. But as we are right now, we can help Gohan while he fights Vegeta! No, even better, if we can get Vegeta's tail, then Gohan could beat him on his own!"

Chi-Chi went quiet as she considered Krillin's idea. Something within her twisted at the thought of willingly leading Gohan into a fight with Vegeta, but Krillin's idea was making too much sense for her to object to it. "…What's your plan?"

"For now, we're gonna lead Gohan to Vegeta. Goku weakened him quite a bit, so I think Gohan should be okay fighting against that guy in this state."

"I hope you're right…" Chi-Chi said worriedly, looking back at her son – now unrecognizable as a giant beast – rampaging after them.

"We'll be helping Gohan from the sidelines. Try to get Vegeta's tail." Krillin said, ducking his head to avoid a shower of boulders that had been thrown into the air when Gohan swung his arm through a forty foot wide stone pillar. He had crushed it easily as though it were a thin sheet of sugar. "We couldn't help Goku before, but with Gohan like this, we can do something." Krillin said. "And, judging by what I'm sensing, Goku will need our help."

-x-x-x-

Goku screamed as Vegeta snapped all the bones in one of his legs by slowly closing his hand over the limb. Looking mildly satisfied, Vegeta dropped him and watched with amusement as Goku writhed on the ground and howled, his hands hovering stiffly above his bloodied leg – wanting to but not daring to touch the mess of fractured bones.

"If only you could see yourself now. Crying like a baby after only minutes of my transformation." Vegeta chortled. "What a disgrace you are to the saiyan race. A mongrel like you should have been put out of its misery a long time ago." He lifted his foot over Goku. "And I'll be only happy to undertake that responsibility." He swung his foot down, intending to smash Goku's skull.

At the last second, Goku whipped his hand up and blasted Vegeta's eye.

Vegeta shrieked at the split second agony of the hit and his foot teetered and slammed into Goku's arm and side, cracking ribs and shattering his arm. Vegeta shoved a hand against his injured eye, shocked when a squelching sound accompanied the pressure of his palm and thick globs of blood splattered onto Goku who was still screaming from the weight of Vegeta's foot on his mangled side.

"I'm going to kill you!" Vegeta bellowed, reeling back from the pain in his eye. He raised his foot again.

"Destructo disc!"

His massive ears perked at the shouted phrase and caught the nearly silent whir of the disc spinning at his neck. He propelled himself back to avoid decapitation and looked for the attacker. "You!" Vegeta snarled.

Krillin swallowed hard. "Y-yeah! And it's not just me!"

"Who else? The woman and her whelp?" Vegeta chortled. "Pathetic!" He threw back his head and laughed.

It was at that moment Gohan lunged and tackled him into the ground.

While Krillin had diverted Gohan's attention to Vegeta, Chi-Chi had run straight for her husband's steadily fading energy signature - terrified she would be too late when she found him. "Goku!" Chi-Chi shouted. Her eyes wobbled frantically over his blood drenched body, feeling particularly sick at the sight of his shattered arm and leg. "No…no, no…" She touched his chest and tried to feel for signs of breathing or at least a heartbeat.

"-s'not my blood." Goku rasped. "Well…not most of it. D-don't…don't worry."

"Goku!" Chi-Chi choked. "You're still…" She felt her eyes water with relief.

"Was just…concentratin' on g-gettin' somethin'…together." Goku said weakly. "But I dunno if- if I have the strength…"

"Wait a sec." Chi-Chi said softly. She reached in her pocket, fumbling around it until she found what she was looking for and took out the sliver of senzu she had saved. "It's not much…hardly anythin' at all, but, here."

"That's-" Goku's eyes widened a little before he grinned. "Thanks Chi-Chi." He chuckled as she slipped it into his mouth. "You're a lifesaver." He could already feel some of his torn muscles knit back together and many of his bones align themselves in their correct positions.

"What would you have done if I hadn't saved it, ya big moron?" Chi-Chi demanded tearfully.

Goku closed his eyes to focus again on drawing energy to himself. Some of his bones were still broken and his body ached terribly but it all felt bearable now. He smiled. "Dunno, but that's just a 'what if.' It isn't real important."

Chi-Chi bit her lip to keep herself from shouting at Goku about how disturbingly carefree he could be, not wanting to break his concentration. Instead she took a slow breath before turning to see how Gohan was doing.

Gohan and Vegeta were grappling fiercely, but it was clear that Vegeta, besides being larger and heavier, was the stronger of the two. Krillin had stayed back so he wouldn't accidentally become a casualty by getting between the two, and was tensely watching the fight.

Vegeta leaned his head back and swung it forward, cracking it against Gohan's forehead. Roaring, Gohan fell back, clutching his throbbing forehead. Taking advantage of Gohan's temporary incapacitation, Vegeta raised his arm and tore four long bloody cuts across Gohan's chest. Gohan screamed and fell back, scrabbling at his chest.

"Kamehameha!" Taken by surprise, Vegeta turned his head too late and the attack shallowly sliced into his already damaged eye. Blood spurted from the reopened wound.

"Little bitch!" Vegeta screamed, stumbling back heavily. He put his hand over his eye. "I'll tear you to pieces!"

"Keep your hands off my son." Chi-Chi growled as she formed another kamehameha.

"You're a fool to be attacking me head on!" Vegeta shouted before opening his mouth wide to release a beam too large for her to avoid.

Chi-Chi's eyes widened in surprise and she instinctively flinched, crossing her forearms in front of her defensively. Something enormous swept in front of her. When Chi-Chi looked, she found Gohan standing in front of her - batting away the attack. "Gohan…" She said softly. "Do you recognize me?"

Gohan ignored her. Roaring loudly enough to hurt Chi-Chi's ears, he charged at Vegeta, claws extended.

"Arrogant whelp! Know your place!" Vegeta snarled as he avoided Gohan's ferocious swings. Gohan made a particularly wide swing at Vegeta's head, exposing a large, vulnerable portion of his side. Catching the opening, Vegeta sped at Gohan and punched him in the side of his ribs. Gohan briefly faltered, and it was enough time for Vegeta to jam his claws into Gohan's neck. The thick fur and tough layers of muscle and fat around Gohan's neck barely prevented the claws from slicing through the soft tissue and veins underneath. Curling his fingers to tighten his grip on the flesh caught on his claws, Vegeta forced Gohan to the ground and began to apply pressure to his throat.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi cried out. She desperately shot at Vegeta. He deflected it with ease and chuckled.

"Predictable. But those who are desperate tend to behave in the same way." He pressed down harder on Gohan's windpipe. Gohan bucked desperately around the arm pinning him down, mouth open in a soundless scream as the fire in his lungs began to tear through his entire body. He clawed fiercely at Vegeta's arm, even drawing blood a few times, but the saiyan seemed unaffected, even amused by the struggle. "Now watch as your child dies!"

"Noo!" Chi-Chi screamed.

And as though granting her plea, Vegeta released his hold on Gohan's neck and backed away, looking stunned.

Chi-Chi stared at him, wondering what had caused him to change his mind.

The thundering crash of his wriggling, disconnected tail cleared her silent confusion. Beside it, a familiar, thickly built man landed heavily on his feet.

"Yajirobe!" Chi-Chi gasped.

"M-my tail!" Vegeta gasped as he reverted to his original size. "Who could have-?" His eyes widened and he quickly darted out of the way as a fist as large as his body slammed into the area he had just been standing. "Damn it!" He swore as one of Gohan's claws cut into his side. In his current state, he knew Gohan would eventually overwhelm him. He was already having enough trouble just dodging Gohan's furious swipes and Vegeta was beginning to tire. It would only be a matter of time before Gohan managed to land a fatal hit on him.

"Yajirobe!" Chi-Chi flew to the heavily perspiring man. She suspected most of the sweat was the product of fear rather than exertion though. "I thought you were goin' to stay with Korin!" She said.

"Yeah, well, that fur ball kicked me off the tower and told me not to come back until I checked on you guys and helped if I could." He grumbled. "Stupid cat can see everything from where he is, so it's not like I could have done anything else."

"Better late than never I guess...if anythin', you came at the right time and did us a real big favour." Chi-Chi commented dryly as she watched the fight between her son and Vegeta, which was quickly becoming one-sided.

Gohan howled again and after grabbing Vegeta by the leg, swung him into the ground. Screaming a string of obscenities, Vegeta whirled around as far as he could in his position and shot a beam at Gohan's fingers, searing them. Gohan roared in pain and abruptly dropped Vegeta. Speeding behind his distracted opponent, Vegeta leapt for his tail. Gohan sensed the man's movement and slapped him into the ground.

"Damnit! You're just a half breed spawn!" Vegeta bellowed. He jumped into the air and flew backwards. As he had predicted, Gohan followed, his tail trailing behind him. Vegeta summoned energy into his hand and formed it into a jagged edged disc. "Be gone!" He shouted as he threw the weapon, too weary to aim it properly. The disc grazed the skin of Gohan's feet and neatly sliced through his tail.

Chi-Chi's eyes widened. "Gohan!" She cried out.

Gohan, still in the midst of transforming back into his original form, landed with an enormous crash and caused the ground to shake.

Breathing hard, Vegeta fell heavily on his hands and knees some distance from Gohan. His limbs trembled violently and he seemed to have great difficulty getting to his feet again.

"He must be almost dead after fighting with your kid." Yajirobe said confidently. "Now that he's weak, I'll take him down!" He readied his sword and charged at Vegeta.

Without even glancing around, Vegeta backhanded the man into a cliff face, causing it to crumble and pile over him. Yajirobe didn't get up.

Chi-Chi looked around and smiled grimly. "It's just me now, huh?" She didn't want to use up any extra energy feeling around for other power signatures. She just hoped someone else might be nearby, preparing to attack Vegeta before he did any serious harm to her.

"That's right. Just you and me. There's no one left to save you." Vegeta hissed. "I'm going to make you wish you were never born."

"Ha!" Chi-Chi chortled with all the bravado she didn't feel. "Just lookin' at your ugly face makes me feel that way." She bit back a grimace when her body trembled with fatigue, silently but incessantly urging her to just shut her eyes and sleep.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed before he flew at her. Chi-Chi choked on a gasp when her opponent's fist rammed sledgehammer hard into her side, knocking the wind out of her. She fell to her knees, holding her side while she frantically dragged air back into her lungs. She looked up in time to see the dirtied white of his boot as he kicked her in the chest. Chi-Chi forced herself not to panic as she lay on the ground, struggling to breathe. Panicking would only make her condition worse.

She forced herself to stand again and faced Vegeta. It would only be a matter of time until he really killed her. She was sure of that. Fighting Goku, then Gohan had weakened him considerably, but he was still strong enough to kill her with a little effort. _'No. Don't start believin' everythin' is over. That'll make it true even if it isn't.' _She took a deep breath. _'Convince him that you're weaker than you actually are…and when the opportunity comes…!' _

Keeping her eyes firmly on Vegeta, she ordered her feet to trip a little as she circled Vegeta. A smirk appeared on his face. "Your body giving out already, human?"

"D-don't get cocky yet." Chi-Chi hissed, purposefully sounding faint. Her eyes glanced over the wide, still dripping wound on Vegeta's side. A memento from Gohan - as well as an easier target than Vegeta's face, which Chi-Chi was sure Vegeta would be guarding with the most diligence. She moved forward and faked a slow strike at Vegeta's bloody eye. As she had predicted, he leisurely raised his arm to protect himself.

Then moving as swiftly as she was able, she viciously slammed her knuckles into the wound along the lower edge of Vegeta's ribcage. Her fist came away bloody. He bellowed in pain and she felt a surge of satisfaction even after he retaliated by kneeing her in the stomach with so much force that black spots filled her vision. She stumbled back and fell against a relatively smooth rock face. She slid down - unable to command her legs to support her - until she was sitting upright against the stone surface she had collided with. Trepidation filled her as she watched Vegeta approach.

"Clever, but too weak." He hissed. "I'm going to kill you, you little bi-" The rest of his words were lost in a scream as he was slammed into from behind and thrown into the sky by a ball of condensed energy. An explosion of what appeared to be white lightning split the sky.

Breathing hard from the combined forces of fatigue, fear and tentative relief, Chi-Chi slowly opened her eyes and shakily looked back. She saw Krillin with his arm still extended, standing next to Goku. "That bastard isn't going to be killing anyone anymore." Krillin muttered, sounding as exhausted as she felt.

"I was wonderin' where you went." Chi-Chi gave him a small smile.

Krillin chuckled. "Goku needed a little help throwing his spirit bomb."

"Spirit bomb huh?" Chi-Chi looked skyward. "Looks like it did the job…it's over." She whispered, finding herself unable to believe it. "It's over. We won." The words felt empty. They had won. But they had lost so many of their friends.

"Chi-Chi! Are you okay?" Krillin called out.

"Y-yes!" She said tiredly. All she wanted to do was sleep. She shook her head. _'Gohan.' _She had to check on him. She forced herself to her feet and swaying a little as she walked, went to Gohan and tenderly picked him up. She slowly returned to where Goku and Krillin were and put Gohan beside Goku.

"H-how is he?" Goku asked.

"He's fine." Chi-Chi reported happily. Even with most of her energy depleted, she could easily sense the strong flow of her son's energy. Mindful of his nudity, she pulled off her outer shirt and pulled it onto Gohan.

She extended the range of her energy sensing ability. "Yajirobe is more than fine." She said dryly.

"I'm not surprised. He's probably been playing dead this whole time." Krillin grumbled.

She giggled. "Tha-" She froze. "No…" Chi-Chi whispered, turning and exchanging a horrified look with Krillin who had also sensed the same thing she had. "Vegeta…he's still alive!"

As if on cue, there was the sound of a ship descending some distance away.

"He's trying to escape!" Krillin hissed angrily, rising to his feet unsteadily. "I'll go and-"

"No!" Goku said abruptly. He took a shuddering breath to keep himself anchored to the conscious world. "Don't. Just let him go."

"What? But-!" Krillin stopped when Chi-Chi grabbed his arm.

"I know how you feel," she said softly, "but enough people have died today."

Krillin's expression softened. "Chi-Chi…" The rumble of Vegeta's space pod interrupted him. Krillin, Chi-Chi and Goku watched with mixed expressions as the ship rose into the air and disappeared into the distance.

Goku smirked. _'Let's meet on the battlefield again Vegeta. Next time, I'll be ready to fight for real against you!" _

Krillin gave Goku a dry look. "I bet you're thinking about fighting him again."

Goku chuckled. "Does it show that obviously on my face?"

Krillin sighed. "More like, I've known you long enough to understand what that look means." He closed his eyes, looking thoroughly exasperated and worried at the same time. "Jeez, I can't believe we let that psycho go…" He sighed again and seemed to calm. "Well, there's no point in arguing about it now."

"Yeah." Chi-Chi nodded in agreement before falling backwards.

"H-hey!" Krillin yelped.

"Chi-Chi?" Goku said anxiously, having only heard the sound of her hitting the ground.

As she lay on the ground, falling in and out of consciousness, Chi-Chi caught sight of a plane flying over her head, heard voices calling out and the sound of feet on the uncomfortably hot, rocky ground. Someone called her name more than a few times. She thought she saw white fur and bright blue hair at the edge of her vision. The fragmented sights triggered the sensation of familiarity within her. A feeling of security washed over her and she sighed and allowed herself to fall into the beckoning arms of slumber.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

-x-x-x-

**Author's Notes**

And now I have finished with the Saiyan arc! Woooo! I am quite excited to be going into the Freeza arc. Hopefully I can make the first part of it (looking for the Namek dragonballs) somewhat more exciting than it was in the original series, because if I remember correctly, it wasn't that much fun at all… until the Ginyu forces came into the picture at least.

The explanations on what happens when one loses control of the kaio-ken, Gohan's tail growing back and Krillin's rationalization for why they shouldn't just blow up the fake moon, are all my attempts at making sense of some of the things that bugged me while I was watching the series. Not so much the kaio-ken thing since that makes sense to me (though, where the heck does that power come from!) but the whole not blowing up the fake moon thing was pretty annoying. I mean, I know they saw it and made the connection between it being there and Vegeta and Gohan's transformations, but why didn't anyone try to blow it up and save themselves all the pain of dealing with oozaru Vegeta? So I just had Krillin say straight out, 'it would be a better use of our energy if we have Gohan fight him and help him from the side.' Expect similar manipulations of story elements in the future. Not that I'm going to try and rationalize everything, 'cause let's face it, Dragonball is more about entertainment than logic.

I apologize for the super late update. My external hard drive (which I moronically hadn't backed up for a year) died, taking pretty much everything I had written in the past year… I had planned on posting something for the beginning of February, but as you can see, that didn't happen. But now I'm on vacation! (And job hunting XD) and have admittedly been marathoning the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime which has turned out to be **awesome**.

For the record, this site can be a real douche. Apparently between the last time I updated and now, all my star line breaks were yanked out and so all of my chapters were a mess for quite a while without me knowing it! So I of course went back and changed that, grumbling all the way…

Yes. I put in the 'power level is over 9000' reference in there on purpose, because it's DBZ and it's an epic tradition.

And what would the author's notes be without thank yous? Thank you readers, reviewers, alerters and favoriters! Yeah, I know those last two aren't legit words, but I think you know who you are! All of you are great support and make writing this all that much more fun!


	8. Into Space!

**Dragonball Divergence by TokiNabi**

**Disclaimer: **Dragonball, Z and GT belong to Akira Toriyama and Toei. Some of the dialogue and plot points in this fanfic are from the Dragonball manga. The rest however, is my own work. This is simply a work of fiction for fun and not for the purposes of profit.

**Chapter 08: Into Space!**

-x-x-x-

"_When daddy, when?"_

"_Not for at least another twenty years." _

"_What? But that's forever!" Bulma gave her most devastatingly adorable pout. _

"_You'd be surprised by how quickly that amount of time passes." Dr. Briefs said absently as he tinkered with his latest invention. _

_Bulma sighed. "But I want to be an astronaut!" _

"_What we want and what we can have are two different things honey. But I'm not saying no. I'm perfectly fine with you becoming an astronaut and exploring space…when you are officially an adult." _

"_Why not now?" Bulma said lowly, sulking._

"_An astronaut requires an extensive knowledge of all the sciences, particularly math, physics and engineering. You must also be at peak mental and physical health, darling. All those skills and traits are essential to a successful trip through space…and anywhere really." _

_Fires seemed to light in Bulma's eyes. "So if I have all those, I can go earlier?" _

"_Well…I suppose." Her father said hesitantly, unable to argue against the reasoning. _

_Bulma let out a cheerful whoop. "Thanks daddy!" She dashed excitedly out of the room, presumably to begin her training as a future astronaut._

_Dr. Briefs paused in his work to watch his daughter leave and shook his head. "I fear the day she becomes a teenager." _

-x-x-x-

"While I do realize he has been sentenced to an eternity in hell, I respectfully request that he instead be sent to King Kai to receive training."

"No." King Yemma said flatly.

Piccolo rolled his eyes. He didn't know why the old geezer had even bothered to try in the first place. It was a given that someone like him would go straight to hell and if he were to be completely honest, he felt a little proud of it. He was _that_ evil, never mind the fact that he had babysat his worst enemy's kid for nearly a year and gotten a little attached.

"Please reconsider your decision!" Kami pleaded. "Piccolo does not truly belong there! I urge you to at the very least, review the circumstances of his death."

Piccolo winced, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. It had been a thoughtless act on his part. All Piccolo could really remember of the moment was seeing the blinding flash from Vegeta's attack and knowing in that instant that Gohan would be dead if he didn't do something. In the aftermath, even as he was bleeding out and in no small agony, he had come to the realization that somehow, at some point during their time together he had started to consider Gohan's life more important than even his own.

"Hnmm…" King Yemma looked over the notes in his book thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose he died a hero's death…" He said grudgingly. "And since I definitely can't put him into heaven, this will be an acceptable compromise."

"You have my greatest thanks." Kami said, bowing deeply.

"Yes, yes, now clear out of my office, both of you. I have others to judge. My work is endless and I would rather not get behind."

"Yes, of course. Well then, goodbye King Yemma." Kami said politely. He turned to Piccolo. "You will have to go that way," he pointed to an enormous archway on the left. "It is a road that leads to King Kai's planet where you can receive the same special training Goku did."

"Don't expect me to thank you for doing something unnecessary." Piccolo growled as he stalked toward the archway.

Kami smiled. "That you earned the right to walk this path is thanks enough."

Piccolo ignored him.

-x-x-x-

Chi-Chi woke up to the sound of someone crying. She blinked rapidly to clear her fuzzy vision and when the world had sharpened, she saw Bulma, sitting sideways in a chair, hunched over and weeping into her hands. "Bu-Bulma?" She murmured, voice coming out as a whisper through her dry throat. Launch, face in a severe frown, was beside Bulma and looking at the floor. Sitting in the seats in front of the two women, were Krillin, and Roshi who seemed to be driving.

The clouds outside were level with the windows. _'We're flyin'.' _Chi-Chi realized. Her body ached. And then she remembered. Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Chaotsu were dead. Worst of all, Piccolo had been killed as well, which meant that none of them would be coming back. Chi-Chi felt something within her twist unpleasantly at the thought of Piccolo.

_Don't die Goh-_

She shut her eyes. Even while bleeding to death, Piccolo had been thinking of Gohan.

'_I was wrong about you.' _She thought. _'I'm sorry. And…thank you.' _

"Ah, you're awake now." She turned her head around to look for the owner of the voice. Korin, the giant bipedal white cat that lived in the upper level of the tower supporting Kami's palace, grinned at her. "How are you feeling?"

Chi-Chi quickly sat up. "Agh…" She clutched her stomach.

"What are you doin'? You'll hurt yourself!" A large pair of hands tried to push her back down but Chi-Chi batted them away. Everything in general hurt, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

"I'm fine dad." Chi-Chi insisted. She ignored her father's furrowed eyebrows which made it clear he didn't believe her. "Where's Gohan? And Goku?" She demanded, half afraid that she would wake up to find them gone again.

"I'm here." Goku's weary voice drew her attention to the space behind her where he had been laid on a futon. "Gohan's asleep next to me. He's okay too."

Chi-Chi clumsily scrambled to Gohan's side, stumbling past Korin, Yajirobe and her father. She immediately checked Gohan over. His throat was bruised and she could see the top of a bandage that had been wrapped around his chest, peeking out from the shirt she had put on him. Despite his injuries, his energy felt as strong as ever and Chi-Chi leaned back, sighing with relief. She carefully moved to Goku's side. He was in a considerably worse state than Gohan and every so often, would wince when the small airship they were on shook from turbulence.

"Oh Goku…" She tenderly combed her fingers through his hair. Her eyes ran over his bruised face and she knew of the poor state of his body underneath the blanket covering him. She frowned at him, eyes becoming misty. "I…" She started softly, "I told you to save that senzu for yourself!" She snapped, causing everyone around her to jerk back in shock.

"Chi-Chi…" Ox King put a hand on her shoulder. "Now's not really the-"

She shook him off. "You're real crazy, you know that? Goin' off to fight some psycho alone without even savin' yourself a piece of that senzu- Were you _tryin'_ to get yourself killed?" She shouted. "Maybe that would have been fine for you, but what about me and Gohan? Do you think we want to live without you for the rest of our lives?" She could feel tears streaming down her burning cheeks. She took a shuddering breath. "You should have at least split that senzu into four if you weren't gonna have me, Krillin or Gohan fightin' with you!"

"Sorry." Goku said softly, feeling remorseful as he watched her cry. "I know I'm always worryin' you…and you still put up with me and the trouble I get into. I was real lucky you all came back." He grinned. "Forgive me?"

Chi-Chi sighed and wiped her eyes. "You-" She hiccupped. "You're too carefree!" She glared at him briefly before faltering. "Just…just be more careful from now on. You're goin' to put me into an early grave with all this stress!" There was a light ripple of laughter around her. When it was quiet again, Chi-Chi spoke. "What happened while I was out?" She asked, nearly regretting her question when she saw everyone's postures wilt.

"…We went to get Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Chaotsu and Piccolo…but their bodies disappeared just as we got there." Roshi said solemnly.

"It's only natural since they died as heroes." Korin said. "Their bodies were taken to the afterlife so they would be able to train. It's a great honour bestowed to only a few."

"Piccolo too, huh?" Chi-Chi said softly as she looked at Gohan. "Good for him." She pulled her lips into a wobbly smile. "It sounds like the kind of life they all would have wanted."

"Yeah." Launch spoke up. "Tenshinhan and Chaotsu- they were crazy about training…all the time I was with them…it was all they wanted to do – become martial arts masters. So that…it's perfect." Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears. "I bet they're having an awesome time right now…so I shouldn't be sad."

"Launch…" Bulma put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to act so strong…" She swallowed back a sob. "You- you really loved Tenshinhan…it's okay to be sad that he's gone."

"Maybe…maybe not." Krillin said. His voice sounded loud in the sudden stillness of the atmosphere. He could feel everyone's eyes on him.

"Wh-what?" Bulma asked, echoing everyone's thoughts.

"There might still be a chance." Krillin said, looking at his tightly clenched hands. "I've been thinking really hard about it for a while…and I think we can bring our friends back."

"You better not be shitting with us." Launch said roughly, reddened eyes regarding him sharply.

Krillin shook his head. "I really think… Well, there's something that's been bothering me. Those saiyans came to earth to get the dragonballs, right? Well, once Vegeta found out that Piccolo was connected to the dragonballs, he didn't think it was important to keep him alive anymore. And he said, 'he's not the only one of his kind in the universe.' Well that's got to mean that there's others like Piccolo somewhere out there, right? Then maybe that means-"

"-That they have their own version of the dragonballs!" Bulma bellowed, standing up abruptly and startling everyone on the ship. She wiped away her tears and gave a shriek of joy. "We can get our friends back! I can get Yamcha back!"

Launch looked up, expression hopeful. "Then Tenshinhan too-"

"That's right! We'll get all of them back!" Bulma laughed. "All we have to do is find out where that planet is-" she faltered. "Where…is that planet, anyway?" She looked sharply at Krillin who held his hands up.

"I don't know!" He yelped.

An anxious expression crossed Bulma's face. "How will we get there if we don't even know where it is?"

"I'll ask King Kai." Goku said, sounding more cheerful than earlier. Hearing Krillin's idea had lifted his spirits. He concentrated on the weak link in his mind that connected him to King Kai. Having trained with the Kai for a considerable period of time, Goku had also been able to pick up some telepathic abilities from the martial arts master. Finding the link he was looking for, Goku gave a mental tug on it and simultaneously called for him out loud. "King Kai? Are you there?"

"_Ah- yes. Hello Goku. I'm pleased to see you're still alive, though perhaps not well." _

Everyone looked up in surprise at the seemingly disembodied voice in the plane. "Who-what is that?" Bulma yelped. "You guys heard him too, right?" Everyone nodded. She looked around. "But I don't see anyone…"

"_I'm speaking to all of you telepathically."_ North Kai explained. _"Now, I believe you have a question for me?" _

"Yeah. We need to know where planet Namek is." Goku said. "Could you give us the location?"

"_Alright. Give me a moment while I…ah- the coordinates for Namek are 9045 YX." _

Bulma's eyes became large and a look of mild horror crossed her face. "9045 YX?" She repeated in a strained voice. She reached for her bag and dug out a calculator.

"A true scientist…" Krillin said dryly, looking pointedly at Bulma's calculator.

"_Namek was once a beautiful planet with a flourishing population, but due to an unexpected severe change in weather conditions, the Namekian race rapidly declined. There's a chance that they are completely extinct…I'll examine the planet for life signs so you don't make a futile trip." _

"That must be why Kami originally left Namek…" Korin said solemnly. "How tragic…"

"Why not wish for better weather?" Yajirobe asked grumpily. "Aren't the dragonballs supposed to be able to grant anything?"

"The dragonballs can only grant wishes that their creator is capable of performing." Korin explained. "Their power is based on the creator's abilities and also amplified by the energy of the planet. Well, that's how Kami explained it to me anyway. The dragonballs will not interfere with the power that sustains them. Therefore, it's probable that the dragon wouldn't or couldn't change the weather."

"Makes sense I guess." Roshi said thoughtfully.

The group tensely waited for the Kai's report on the condition of Namek's inhabitants.

"_Ah! Found it! And…there's about a hundred Namekians on the planet!"_

"That's great!" Krillin cheered.

"But imagine coming to a planet with a hundred others like Piccolo." Yajirobe grumbled. "You'd be dead in minutes."

"_There's no need to worry about that." _North Kai said. _"Piccolo was the exception and it's most likely his violent nature was due to the negative influence caused by witnessing hundreds of years of devastating wars and acts of cruelty on earth. The Namekians are a gentle, intelligent and empathetic race. They are considered one of the most advanced sentient beings in the universe." _

"That's a relief." Chi-Chi sighed.

"What about humans?" Roshi asked curiously. "How advanced are we?"

"_Er…well, each race has its own rate of development…"_

"That's just a nice way of saying that we're on the lower end of that scale, isn't it?" Krillin said dryly.

"_Give yourselves a few million years." _North Kai said. _"I'm certain you'll progress nicely in that time." _

"Speaking of things that won't be happening anytime soon..." Bulma interjected grimly. "According to my calculations, if we took the fastest ship on earth and set a course for Namek, it would take four thousand three hundred thirty three years and three months to get there."

"_Four thousand years_?" Chi-Chi yelped in dismay. "We'll die on the way there!" The others made similar sounds of distress at the news.

"What can we do King Kai?" Goku asked.

"_What? Why are you asking me? I don't know!"_

"There must be _somethin' _we can do…" Chi-Chi said seriously. "We can't just let Vegeta go to Namek and get the dragonballs there for himself!"

"That's it!" Everyone looked at Krillin.

"What's it?" Roshi asked.

"A saiyan ship!" Krillin grinned. "Vegeta only took his ship! His partner's ship is still here on earth!"

"That's brilliant!" Bulma burst out happily. She whipped out her cell phone and began to rapidly dial a number.

"Who are you calling?" Roshi asked.

"My dad. I'm going to get him to retrieve that ship before anyone else goes in there for it." Bulma said. "Hello, dad? No time to explain, but I need you to get a team and…"

"You're just full of good ideas today, aren't you?" Launch said approvingly. Krillin grinned shyly at the compliment.

"This is great." Goku said smilingly. "It's real lucky that one of those ships got left behind." He paused. "Wait…there's another one! The one my brother came in!"

Bulma gave him a quick glance before returning her full attention to her conversation. "Oh, Goku just said that there's another one of those ships somewhere on earth…no, I don't know where it is, but I'm sure we can figure out a way to track it once we get the first ship I mentioned…"

"Well I guess that settles it!" Launch said cheerfully. "We're getting our friends back!"

-x-x-x-

"So the good news is that all of us except for Goku will be discharged from the hospital today." Chi-Chi explained. It was the day after she, Goku, Gohan and Krillin had been taken to the hospital. Visitors had not been allowed until the day after their admittance, which had suited the patients fine, as all of them had been thoroughly exhausted by the previous day's gruelling battles. As the doctor had forbidden Goku from getting out of bed unless absolutely necessary, the group had all gathered in Goku's room to discuss their next move.

"I _can_ move around pretty well right now though…I don't see what the big deal is." Goku pouted.

"Doesn't that attitude remind you of someone else?" Ox King chuckled, looking pointedly at Chi-Chi.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about." Chi-Chi said huffily. "Anyway, I'm havin' Gohan stay at his Grandpa's for a while. I want to stick around for a night or two to make sure Goku doesn't try to get out of bed to train or somethin' equally stupid." Chi-Chi said, looking at Goku sternly.

"Good luck with that." Bulma chuckled. "So what's the bad news?"

"It's goin' to be another two weeks before Goku is well enough to really move around." Chi-Chi sighed.

"And I'm gonna be weaker than before…" Goku added.

Bulma, Roshi and Ox King winced. "That saiyan really did a number on you, didn't he?" Roshi commented as he glanced over Goku's wrapped up ribs, arm and leg.

"He sure did." Goku laughed. "I was real lucky…if it weren't for that piece of senzu, I'd be in a lot worse shape right now. I'm actually beginnin' to wonder if it was such a good idea to let him go."

"You what?" Bulma shrieked.

"You didn't." Roshi said flatly. When Goku didn't respond, the old man sighed. "You did."

"Obviously it wasn't a great idea, but there's no point in regretting it now." Krillin grumbled. "By the way Bulma, how are things going with the ship?"

Bulma shot one last incredulous look at Goku before answering. "Well I had some time to look at the remote you gave me and I was able to figure out the functions of all the buttons. I've got one of the saiyan ships in my possession, but it's a one person ship. Building another one like it to accommodate a larger group is going to take at least a month." She sighed.

"Well…at least we'll all have lots of time to recover." Chi-Chi said in an attempt to be optimistic.

"But what if Vegeta gets there before us and collects all the dragonballs?" Gohan asked anxiously. "I don't think we can wait that long!"

"I know what you mean, but-" Bulma stopped in mid sentence when the sound of knocking filled the room. It was coming from one of the room's windows.

"Mr. Popo!" Chi-Chi gasped. The man was just outside the window, knocking on the glass.

"We're on the sixth floor…" Bulma murmured as Chi-Chi went to open the window.

"Hello." Popo said in his usual polite manner. "Korin informed me of your plans to travel to Namek, Kami's original planet. While you already have a mode of transportation in construction, I believe I have something you can use to considerably hasten the date of departure."

"Really?" Gohan asked, noticeably brightening.

Popo nodded. "And if one of you will accompany me, I can show it to you." All eyes were on Bulma then.

"Why me?" She yelped indignantly.

"Well, we're all injured." Chi-Chi said.

"Roshi isn't! Neither is Ox King!"

"You're the genius. I don't know the first thing about technology. I can't even operate my VCR properly sometimes." Roshi said.

"What he said." Ox King chuckled.

"Who still owns a VCR nowadays?" Bulma hissed incredulously. She slumped in defeat. "Fine. I'll go." She stuck her head out the window and her eyes widened. "What is that?"

"A magic carpet." Popo answered.

"How long will this thing take to get there and back?" Bulma asked, eyeing Popo distrustfully.

"This carpet can teleport to any place it has already visited. It should not take more than a few minutes."

"Well…alright then." Bulma slowly and tentatively stuck her foot out the window onto the carpet and after tapping the carpet's surface a few times, then firmly stomping on it to acertain that it wouldn't simply drop underneath her added weight, she shifted unsteadily onto the carpet. "I'll be back in a few minutes!" She called back to the others in the hospital room.

"Take your time." Roshi said. "We're not going anywhere." Scarcely after he finished speaking, Bulma and Popo disappeared.

"Wah! It really must be teleportation!" Gohan said excitedly. "I didn't see them move and I can't feel their energy anywhere nearby!"

"That'd be a real useful skill to have." Chi-Chi sighed.

"Useful, but probably not possible." Krillin said.

Goku grinned. "Hey, you never know, right?"

Chi-Chi rolled her eyes. "You can't even walk right now, and you're talkin' about teleportin'?

"That's Goku for you." Krillin chuckled. Chi-Chi, Ox King and Gohan giggled along with him.

"I hope whatever Popo is showing Bulma can help us." Chi-Chi said.

"It will!" Bulma's voice said from the window. She looked excited as she crawled back into the room. Behind her, Popo waved as he flew away.

"Bulma! What happened?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Change of plans." She grinned. "We'll be taking-off for Namek in five days!"

Everyone gaped. "Five days?" Chi-Chi echoed. "How?"

"Turns out, Kami came here as a child on a ship of his own." Bulma said. "And Popo gave that ship to me! Apparently, they didn't know that it could actually go out into space! Popo and Kami originally thought it came from another country! Funny, huh? Such a sophisticated piece of technology – like nothing else on this earth – and they never consider the possibility it's from another planet... Anyway, all it needs is some repair, and it'll be good as new!"

"That's great!" Gohan said happily. "We can be there really soon!"

Chi-Chi looked at Gohan. "Woah, hold up there. I don't remember givin' you permission to go to Namek."

Gohan's eyes widened with dismay. "I want to go too!" He burst out. "No, I _have_ to go too! Piccolo died saving me! I have to help get him back!"

"Well… I guess if you want to go with us…but then the preparations might take a bit longer…" Bulma said. "And only if your mother approves you coming with us…" She looked at Chi-Chi nervously.

"Please mom?" Gohan pleaded, looking at her beseechingly. Chi-Chi found her earlier decision to forbid Gohan from going to Namek crumbling under the force of his determined stare. Sorrow tinged the look. "For Piccolo?"

Her first response died on her tongue at the mention of Piccolo. Chi-Chi sighed, shoulders sagging a little in resignation. "…Well you're not goin' without me."

"But mom I- what?" Gohan blinked when what his mom had said fully registered. Everyone else looked at Chi-Chi with the same bewildered expression.

"I'm goin' too." Chi-Chi said. "What if Vegeta goes to Namek? It's way too dangerous for just you, Krillin and Bulma to go."

"Hey wait, I didn't say I would be going." Krillin protested weakly.

"You're not?" Chi-Chi asked, looking at him sternly.

"I am." Krillin sighed in a resigned tone.

"Make room for one more!" Everyone looked at the door. "'Cause I'm going whether you want me to or not." Launch stood casually at the doorway with her arms crossed. "I wanna help too. I couldn't do shit for our buddies when they were fighting those bastards, but I can at least do this."

"Erm, okay. Does anyone else want to come?" Bulma asked, looking around the room.

"Not me." Goku said cheerfully. "I'll come after I heal up if you guys need me."

"I think I'll stick around on Earth." Ox King said cheerfully.

"Me too… finding the dragonballs was enough excitement for me." Roshi said.

"Then it's settled!" Bulma said cheerfully. "I'll have to make a few adjustments to accommodate everyone, but the ship should still be done in five days!"

"What have I gotten myself into? Why can't I ever say no? What will a trip with three alpha females be like? I'm gonna be slaughtered!" Krillin quietly despaired.

A nurse walked into the room. "Alright, visiting hours are over! Everyone that isn't assigned to this room must leave now!" She said firmly.

-x-x-x-

Gohan didn't find waiting particularly enjoyable. He was currently sitting in one of the hospital's waiting areas, watching people pass by. Chi-Chi had told him to wait while she filled out some forms for the hospital so that they could be officially discharged.

"Ah!" A girl, after being jostled by a man rushing past her, dropped a large basket she had been carefully carrying. An array of wrapped sandwiches, boxed lunches, fruits and a couple of bottled waters rolled out all over the floor.

Gohan quickly leaped up and picked up some of the scattered items. "Here." He handed them to the girl.

"Thank you." She said, dropping the rest of the foods into her basket.

"No problem." Gohan smiled at her. She looked to be around his age. She wore a serious expression, softened only by her dark hair which was in pigtails that framed her face. After making sure nothing else had to be picked up, Gohan returned to his seat. He was surprised when the girl followed him and sat in the chair next to his. He glanced around curiously. "Your parents aren't here?"

"They're…talking." The girl answered. She didn't elaborate and didn't seem inclined to either.

"They won't be worried about you?"

"They won't notice I'm gone until they're done." She said flatly.

"Oh." Wondering if he had asked an insensitive question without realizing it, Gohan changed the subject. "…That's a lot of food."

"They're for my daddy." She said. "He doesn't like hospital food. He said he prefers the stuff I make." For a brief moment, a glimmer of happiness showed in her face, but it disappeared too quickly for Gohan to be sure. "I made a lot so he won't get hungry staying at the hospital."

"That's nice of you." Gohan said. "I wish I had a sister."

This time she did smile. Her cheeks were rosy as she reached into the basket and held out a sandwich to Gohan. "Here. Take it."

Gohan blinked. "Really?"

She nodded and added quickly, "b-because you helped me earlier. It's nothing special." With some effort, she made herself frown – the corners of her eyes and mouth twitched.

"Thanks." Gohan grinned as he accepted the gift.

"Videl!" A startlingly beautiful woman walked into the waiting area. "There you are! Why don't you go see your daddy now? He's waiting for you."

"Okay mommy!" She slid off the chair and picked up her basket. She turned to Gohan. "Bye."

"Bye." He watched as the girl, Videl, joined her mother and walked down the hall alongside her.

"Oh- let me help you with that sweetie! How did you even carry such a large thing by yourself? I told you that you could leave it by the door, didn't I?" Her mother frowned.

"But I wanted to give it to daddy myself!" Videl said.

"You're so stubborn - just like your father..." Their voices faded as they entered one of the rooms.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi called. "Let's go!"

"K mom!" Gohan unwrapped his sandwich and quickly finished it before joining his mother.

It wasn't very filling, but the sandwich turned out to be delicious.

-x-x-x-

Dr. Briefs looked at the recovered Namekian ship with intense fascination and barely restrained excitement. "The universe is quite a large, mysterious place, isn't it?" He burst out happily as he studied the ship's engines. "Look at this technology! And this is a very outdated model too! Just imagine what this civilization's technology looks like now! I wonder how many geniuses are out there that make me look like a grade school student in comparison! Just look at the intricacy of the design, it's so-"

Bulma rolled her eyes as she tuned out her father's gushing and got to work on rebuilding the ship's engines. She idly looked at the saiyan space pod they had dismantled and wondered if it would be possible to use its design (it was a recent model after all) to upgrade the Namekian ship. _'Well there's no harm in trying. And if anyone's capable of something like this, it's me.'_ She decided. _'Oh yeah…I should probably let the others know it'll be a week instead of five days until the ship is done…' _

-x-x-x-

Goku awakened to the sound of a window rumbling as it was opened. Cool air washed over his skin. Blinking blearily he squinted to focus his sight. It was dark outside. The only light was from the stars and the city. He saw someone float in through the window, pushing aside the curtains as she entered. "Chi-Chi?" He murmured.

"Sorry." Chi-Chi whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you..."

Goku shook his head. "It's okay. What's wrong?" He asked, alert with curiosity.

"I just wanted to check on you." Chi-Chi smiled wryly. "You should go back to sleep."

Contrary to his wife's request, Goku pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Somethin' on your mind?"

Chi-Chi opened her mouth to deny his statement, but closed it again. "...I'm worried."

Goku smiled and patted his bed as a gesture for her to sit. Chi-Chi frowned disapprovingly but grudgingly sat down beside him. His arm came around her and pulled her closer.

"You should really be sleepin'…" Chi-Chi grumbled. "Just look at yourself! The only reason you're so cheerful is the drugs they've been pumpin' into you."

"I'm feelin' fine." Goku insisted. "And the drugs they've been givin' me only help a little...it's almost the same as not havin' anythin' at all." His fingers prodded her side and she hiccupped in surprise. "What are you so worried about?" He asked, lips curling up a little at her affronted glare. His hand settled a little lower on her hip as he resisted the urge to poke her side again.

Chi-Chi relaxed, leaning her head against his shoulder. "The trip to Namek." She said softly. "…I feel like so many things are goin' to go wrong… I mean, it's bad enough that that we might see Vegeta while we're there…but now Gohan's goin'! I didn't _want _Gohan to go, but then he got that _look_ he gets when he isn't goin' to change his mind…" She pressed her face into Goku's shirt. "What if I can't protect Gohan? What if he gets killed while he's there? What if we all die and don't even bring our friends back?" She sighed loudly in frustration.

"Woah, hey." Goku lightly squeezed Chi-Chi's arm. "I think you're gettin' a little ahead of everyone else. First of all, Gohan got that _look_ from _you,"_ Goku quickly continued before Chi-Chi could object to his comment, "And second, he's real strong and he can take care of himself. He's got a good head on his shoulders. And it's not like he's goin' to Namek by himself. He'll have Bulma, Krillin, Launch _and_ you around to look after him. And all that other stuff…well you're not really gonna know all of that unless you go there and find out. Maybe things'll be real smooth and no one will even get hurt _and_ we'll get our friends back."

"And what if Vegeta goes to Namek too?"

"Then I'll come as fast as I can." Goku said. "He might not even go there. He might come back here to settle things with me and I'll be ready for him by the time he's back."

"I guess…" Chi-Chi said, sounding unconvinced and still looking distressed. Goku frowned as he wracked his mind for a way to cheer her up. Noticing her husband's perplexed expression, Chi-Chi felt her bad mood melt away. She smiled and put a hand on his cheek, turning his head so he was facing her. "You're right. All that stuff hasn't even happened and I'm acting like it has. It's dumb, isn't it? We lost our friends, but there's a chance we can get them back, and Gohan and you and I are still alive. I should be ecstatic." She shifted so she could gently wrap her arms around his neck. "I missed you so much while you were gone."

"I missed you too." Goku murmured into her hair, breathing in the scent he had longed for. His eyes inadvertently trailed down the long line of her back and the exposed skin of her leg revealed by her hospital gown which had ridden up when she curled up beside him. He leaned down a bit more, tilted up her chin and kissed her.

Chi-Chi eagerly returned the gesture, mindful of his injuries as she pressed closer to him. "Goku…" She sighed happily when they pulled apart. "I-ee!" She yelped when she felt his hand wander over her backside. She pressed a hand over her mouth and looked at the door. When no one came in to check on them, she slapped the uninjured side of his chest. "What do you think you're doin'!" She hissed, cheeks red more from embarrassment than anger.

Goku grinned. "It's been a long time for both of us, don't you think?" His hand still hadn't stopped its exploration and his mouth had started nipping a path down her neck.

"Goku!" Chi-Chi giggled. She used her shoulder and chin to block him, and Goku took the opportunity to catch her lips again. When he finally pulled away they were both a little breathless. "Y-you're injured!" Chi-Chi said distractedly. "How can you even be in the mood? You have ah-a broken arm, some cracked ribs and a broken leg!"

"So I'll need you to help me out a bit." He dotted a line of kisses down her chest. Chi-Chi bit back a gasp. "Besides, I feel a lot better all of a sudden. It must be what we're doin'. I'm feelin' better by the second." He said mischievously.

"Go-!" She stifled a giggle. "No, really you shouldn't-" she swallowed back a cry when his lips caught a sensitive area of flesh, "w-when you're hurt!"

"It'll be _fine_." He insisted. "We just gotta be careful…" His hand moved sneakily again and Chi-Chi decided it would be okay to concede after all.

-x-x-x-

A week had passed since Bulma's announcement about the Namekian ship. True to her word, Bulma and her father had managed to repair and even modify the ship to fit the travelling group's needs for the flight to Namek. After completing the required repairs and getting some much needed rest, Bulma had called Chi-Chi, Launch and Krillin to come to her house in the morning, fully prepared to leave earth for an indefinite length of time.

Bulma bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing as Gohan and Chi-Chi walked within her visual range. "So Gohan…you got a hair cut…" She said tensely, unable to prevent a giggle from escaping her.

"Yeah… Daddy saw me and hurt himself laughing…" Gohan's cheeks were red as he spoke.

"There's nothing wrong with his hair! He looks neater now!" Chi-Chi insisted.

"Sure…it's cute." Bulma lied. _'Poor kid. He looks like a dorky nerd.'_

Krillin and Launch walked out from Bulma's house where they had been waiting for the others to arrive. When Launch caught sight of Gohan and she stumbled against Krillin, laughing. "What happened to your hair!" She chortled. "You look like a dork!" Gohan reddened even more and he looked down in embarrassment.

"Oh stop it!" Chi-Chi snapped. "He looks cute!"

"Well…I guess at his age, he can pull it off." Bulma said kindly. _'Good thing hair grows…that nightmare of a haircut will be gone in a few months.' _

"So how long will this trip be anyway?" Krillin asked.

"Well, after some of the modifications my dad and I made, it still won't be quite as fast as a saiyan space ship, but it'll still be faster than it originally was. We'll arrive on Namek in two weeks." Bulma said.

"Wow! That's great!" Gohan yipped excitedly.

"Ready to go?" Launch asked.

Chi-Chi looked at her bags. _'I don't think there's anythin' I __**didn't**__ pack…' _She nodded. "We're ready."

"Alright then… Have a safe trip! You take care of yourselves!" Ox King said. He looked at Chi-Chi, then Gohan and sighed. "Keep each other out of trouble! That's all I can say 'cause I know both of you are goin' to get into a lot of it without even tryin'…"

"Dad!" Chi-Chi protested. "I _know_ how to take care of myself!"

Ox King chuckled. "I know honey…but you should know better than anyone how I feel. Let an old man do some harmless frettin' over his only daughter and grandson."

Chi-Chi smiled and hugged her father tightly. "I'll miss you dad. Take care."

"Same to you sweetie." He let go of Chi-Chi to gather up Gohan in a bear hug. "You stay safe too Gohan!"

"Yes grandpa!" Gohan giggled.

"I'll miss you a lot you know!" Roshi said after witnessing the Sons' farewells. He stretched out his arms. "How about a hug for the old man who cares so much for you?"

"How about no. And I let you keep your teeth." Launch growled.

"That works too."

"How about a goodbye for me?" Krillin sighed. "I know I'm not a hot girl, but a little acknowledgement would be nice you know?"

"So long and take care." Roshi said sincerely. "Make your teacher proud!"

"Thanks. See you Master Roshi." Krillin smiled.

"Have fun while you're there! Take some pictures and oh, don't forget to get some tasty recipes from Namek!" Mrs. Briefs said cheerfully to Bulma.

"…Um, sure mom." Bulma grinned as she hugged her mother.

"Be sure to do regular maintenance on the ship." Dr. Briefs told Bulma. "The last thing you want is for the engines, or the life support systems to stop functioning while you're in the vacuum of space. Ah- there's always the auxiliary power, but if that fails, I also included escape pods that run on power sources independent from the ship – oh and do regular maintenances on those too - in case something like that should happen. It would of course be better if it didn't…"

"Don't worry dad, I'll do the regular system checks." Bulma hugged her dad. "You know me. Beautiful world class genius extraordinaire? I'll be fine."

Dr. Briefs patted his daughter's back. "Indeed. Well, it seems you have all the requirements for a successful trip through space. Oh, I put in a cappuccino machine for those early mornings."

"Thanks dad." Bulma winked. "I'll see you soon! Bye." She walked to the ship, followed by Launch, Krillin, Chi-Chi and Gohan. "Piccolo!" Bulma barked. A circular section from the ship's belly pulled free and descended to the ground. The travellers stepped onto the lowered platform. "Piccolo!" Bulma said again. And the disc platform began to rise with its passengers.

"Goodbye my dears!" Mrs. Briefs called out, waving enthusiastically at the ship.

The group on the ground watched in awe as the ship rose into the air and after positioning itself to face the direction of its destination, disappeared in an instant.

"My, children grow up so fast, don't they?" Mr. Briefs sighed.

"Oh yes." Mrs. Briefs said. "I thought it would be at least another five years before Bulma left to explore space."

**TO BE CONTINUED**

-x-x-x-

**Author's Notes**

So mostly an in-between type of chapter with some fluff and romance thrown in for fan service. Because you guys rock. 3

Credit for that steamy scene between Goku and Chi-Chi goes to a page of a random doujinshi I happened to get a glimpse of online. All I got to see was Goku catching Chi-Chi for a kiss (but it was still pretty fan-girl squeal worthy). Naturally I decided to treat my readers by writing my characters going a little further XD!

Super thank yous all around, especially to everyone who reviewed (and e-cupcakes to anyone who reviewed more than once)! It's nice to hear that there is an overall positive response to this fic!

In response to eternalfox92680's question: Yep. It will definitely be Goku who takes down Freeza. I consider that default, seeing as Freeza's supposed to be known as this ultra powerful super villain that has no equal – up until Goku comes along and shuts him down in an epic battle. In general though, everyone will be more successful in their fights against the bad guys – just because I'm SURE that if the whole point of the series wasn't just to show how strong Goku is and everyone thought things through a little more, the other fighters wouldn't get their asses kicked so often.

I also changed my disclaimer because I noticed I was still flirting with copyright infringement with it… So now, for those who really do care, I have made it clear that I use dialogue and plot points directly from the original manga, and that it most definitely does not belong to me. The rest however, is my own legitimate work.

And did a mini revision of this chapter when a very helpful reviewer pointed out that I forgot to include Ox King and Krillin's parts in scenes they were supposed to be in! Krillin's line "a little acknowledgement would be nice…" is not only story dialogue, but a light-hearted poke at my mistake! Thank you very much for that Baba!


	9. Hostility

**Dragonball Divergence by TokiNabi**

**Disclaimer: **Dragonball, Z and GT belong to Akira Toriyama and Toei. Some of the dialogue and plot points in this fanfic are from the Dragonball manga. The rest however, is my own work. This is simply a work of fiction for fun and not for the purposes of profit.

**Notes: **/text/ - refers to dialogue spoken in another language than the main characters'. In this case, most of it is to indicate Namekian, but it is also used to indicate when Freeza speaks in his own native language.

**Chapter 09: Hostility**

-x-x-x-

Guru felt it right down into his bones, the now familiar sharp pain that accompanied the death of his children. He bowed his head miserably at his helplessness and tried again to conceive a way to save the remaining survivors of his family.

"/Lord Guru…/" Nail said quietly.

"/Please deliver a message to all of the villages for me Nail. Everyone must move from their homes and go into hiding./" Guru said. "/It is not safe to go off planet now. The invaders are destroying any ships they see in the skies. Move quickly and be careful./"

"/Of course./" Nail nodded. "/Forgive me if I cause you any discomfort, but I will move your home underground as quickly as I can./"

A look of surprise crossed Guru's face and he shook his head. "/I am old and close to my time…there is no need./"

"/That is not true. We all still need you./" Nail bowed and before Guru could say anymore, he left to relocate the elder's home.

-x-x-x-

It was one week and a half into the flight and the ship already seemed too small.

Chi-Chi had always gotten along well enough with her fellow travellers before, but those feelings of camaraderie seemed to fade with each day. She had hardly gotten a moment to herself since the trip began and the few times she could be alone weren't nearly enough. All the noise and closeness had been refreshing at first, as she had mostly been by herself at home except for when she was with Goku and Gohan – but now the lack of alone time was beginning to wear on her nerves. No matter where she was - if it wasn't the bathroom and she wasn't using the toilet or tub - someone else was there with her. Even the psychically projected training sessions she had with Gohan and Krillin were doing little to ease her growing irritation. And judging by the glares Bulma shot at anyone who came within two feet of her, Krillin's nervous looks, Launch's agitated shifting and Gohan choosing to discreetly sit in a corner to read while his feet rattled against the floor, Chi-Chi wasn't the only one feeling cramped and antsy.

"Shit, this thing looked big before… but now it just seems to get smaller each day." Launch murmured to herself as she paced around, the skin of her feet occasionally squeaking over the floor. Her eyes narrowed menacingly at Krillin who cringed and shuffled closer to where Gohan was quietly reading. She shook her head. "There's just nothing to do!"

"Well what else did you expect?" Bulma asked crankily, flipping a page of her book which had strange letters scrawled over the cover. She shifted and flopped into another position on her seat, causing it to groan loudly. "I told you guys it would take two weeks to get to Namek. You should have brought reading material or something to entertain yourself."

"How was I supposed to know that there'd be no shit to do? I thought this thing would have a TV at least. And all the booze is gone already!" Launch groaned as she flopped onto one of the large seats of the ship. She pushed a button on of the chair's arms to make it recline and gave a loud sigh.

"What good would a TV do out here? There's no reception and the beer is gone because _you _drank it all!" Bulma said testily.

Launch's eye twitched as she sat up. "Me? Everyone saw you suck down a six pack yesterday!"

"At least I don't drink like I'm trying to instantaneously die of alcohol poisoning!"

"Hey, hey…calm down you guys…" Chi-Chi said uneasily, stepping between the two women. In truth she was really irritated too and wanted to join Launch in complaining about how there was nothing to do, but Bulma was driving and maintaining the ship by herself. Any extra stress could potentially cause her to accidentally (or if she was in a particularly bad mood, on purpose) pitch them into a sun. Or at least, that was what Chi-Chi told herself when she felt like she was about to lose it. "This really isn't the time to be fightin'…I mean, we're all feelin' a bit on edge, but we're here for the same reason, right?" She looked back at Krillin for help, but discovered that he had escaped to the washroom and locked himself in. She glared at the red "occupied" sign glowing brightly on the door and entertained thoughts of kicking the man's ass. Gohan tried to make himself smaller behind his book when she looked in his direction.

"Stay outta this." Launch growled as she cracked her knuckles. "She's asking for it and I'm gonna- h-hey, what are you-ah-achoo!" She sneezed when Chi-Chi swiftly snatched up the automatic mini vacuum cleaner then emptied its contents over Launch. Dust clouds dimmed the air and Chi-Chi promptly turned the vacuum cleaner on and released it. The small machine hummed quietly as it rolled about the floor, sucking up all the dust and dirt that had just been loosed. Launch looked around curiously. "Oh my, are we still on our way to Namek?" She asked softly.

"Yeah." Chi-Chi answered wearily. If there was something she was thankful for, it was that out of all of them, Launch was the easiest to deal with, at least temporarily. Her blond alter ego was probably going to be pissed off when she came back though. "Are you sure you can't make this thing go faster?" Chi-Chi asked.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "If I could, I would have already." She turned and opened a compartment beside the driver's seat. To Chi-Chi's surprise, she pulled out a six pack of beer. "You two want one? I have a few secret stashes hidden around the ship."

"Oh, I don't drink." Launch said, drawing a grin from Bulma. "My goodness…it's like I haven't showered in a week! I need to get cleaned up right now…"

"I'll have one." Chi-Chi said tiredly. "And I think Krillin'll need one too."

"Make it two." Krillin called from the bathroom.

-x-x-x-

"What I want to know is how Piccolo ended up ahead of us when he started after us." Yamcha grumbled. "I'm flying as fast as I can already!"

"I'm just glad he's on our side now." Chaotsu said.

Tenshinhan nodded in agreement. "I'm not certain we would have lasted as long as we did if he hadn't been."

"I hope the others are okay." Yamcha said.

"I'm sure they are." Tenshinhan assured him. "Goku was already on his way back. He probably defeated that saiyan already. And no one else seems to be joining us…not anyone we recognize anyway."

Yamcha grinned. "Yeah, I bet Goku kicked that guy's ass. It's a shame we can't be there to celebrate with everyone else…but I guess we'll just have to be happy with the way things are." He sighed. "I'm really gonna miss the gang…it's just…I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Bulma first. I really thought I'd be coming back, you know?"

"Yeah." Tenshinhan murmured, suddenly yearning for the scent of gunpowder and stew and the sound of a sweet voice that sometimes spoke of lovely things and on other occasions dropped expletives that would make a prison inmate blush. "I know what you mean."

-x-x-x-

"They should be close to Namek now." Roshi commented as he watched Goku, whose body was entirely balanced on his index finger, perform one finger push-ups.

"We should have our friends back in no time then." Goku said. "Huh, these seem easier than I remember…" Roshi noticed the lack of a tremor in the finger Goku was balanced on.

Partially in awe, Roshi shook his head. "You'd better hope the staff doesn't catch you, otherwise-" The door burst open.

"Mr. Son! Stop that this instant! You're still injured!" The doctor snapped as he stormed into the room. The rigid frown lines between his eyebrows seemed to deepen as he spoke. "I tell you over and over again, and yet you still insist on pushing yourself like th- _get back into bed!_" He shrieked when Goku didn't cease his exercise.

"But I'm fine." Goku whined in mid push-up. "You even said that I'd be good to go by now."

"No, I said you would need at least six weeks to heal, but your wife completely ignored me and said two weeks would be fine! What is wrong with you people? You should be in bed and letting those bones heal, not doing circus tricks!"

"But-" Goku reluctantly stopped talking and crept back into his bed, mildly concerned about the doctor's rapidly reddening face and the enlarged veins bulging around his temples.

"If you won't listen to me then look at these x-rays from this morning!" The doctor pulled out four translucent black plastic sheets. "Why, look here, according to these, all your cracked bones have completely healed! Yes, that's right…completely…?" He adjusted his glasses and stared at the images. Then he coughed. "Well, it seems I've accidentally brought someone else's x-rays." He frowned and began to mumble to himself. "But who else could have your impossible bone density?" He coughed again. "Anyway, I'll return with the correct ones." He glared at Goku. "In the meantime, you must stay in bed so you can recover!" The doctor walked out, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Being a saiyan must be wonderful." Roshi sighed.

Goku shrugged and rolled out of bed to do more push-ups.

-x-x-x-

She was awakened by the whir of tiny wings. Without opening her eyes, Chi-Chi slapped the wall she had been sleeping against. "Ow!" She winced when a spark stung her palm. "Wha-?" she looked at her hand. "Metal?" She mumbled in confusion. The crushed insect-shaped machine crackled once more and was silent. Chi-Chi rubbed the grit from her eyes and squinted at the thing in her hand. "What is this?" She mumbled. A piece with something that looked like a red triangle painted on it glinted among the broken parts.

Chi-Chi looked at the others sleeping nearby and found Bulma's spot empty. "Bulma?" She called out quietly as she approached the pilot's chair.

"I'm here." She answered. Bulma stepped around the chair. "What's up?"

"Couldn't sleep? Worried?"

"Nah, I just can't sleep more than a few hours without feeling restless. My normal sleep schedule is pretty erratic. I was just studying Namekian." Bulma held up a small thick book. "Mr. Popo gave this to me so I could study during the trip. I've always been pretty good at picking up languages, so I think I'll be able to speak with the locals when we get there."

"In just two weeks? You're pretty amazin'. It'll sure make things easier for us." Chi-Chi held out her hand. "By the way, you know what this is?"

"Huh?" Bulma's eyes rounded. "Get that away from me!" She shrieked, throwing herself back. "Why would you put something like that in my face?"

"It's not a bug, not a real one." Chi-Chi explained. "Look." She held out her hand again. "It's made outta metal. I just thought it might be important for the ship. I accidentally broke it."

Bulma frowned and shifted closer to take a look. She squinted at the pieces and frowned. "It looks like…a bug."

"I know that." Chi-Chi said impatiently.

"No," Bulma shook her head. "Not that kind of bug. Like, a surveillance bug."

"Oh. So you didn't make it?"

"No. And I know my dad didn't either…" Bulma and Chi-Chi looked at each other.

"Who made this then?"

The ship rocked sharply, flinging Bulma into Chi-Chi. The metal pieces in Chi-Chi's hand flew everywhere. "What was that?" Chi-Chi yelped as she pushed Bulma back onto her feet.

"We've reached Namek!" Bulma yipped excitedly, rushing to the pilot seat. "Get everyone up and tell them to get their seatbelts on!"

Chi-Chi grabbed and shoved everyone into a seat as quickly as she could. Launch nearly elbowed her in the face when Chi-Chi lugged her out of her sleeping blanket and into a chair. Bulma gave a set of instructions to the ship in Namekian and the ship rumbled and slowed.

"Okay, we're going into manual flight mode." Bulma announced. "Don't worry if it gets a little rocky as we go down. Even if we are going a lot slower now, there might be some unexpected turbulence as we go through the planet's atmosphere."

Chi-Chi let out a small sigh of wonder as she buckled her seatbelt. The large windows of the ship allowed the passengers a clear view of Namek's green skies, blue grass and abundant waters. "It's beautiful."

"Isn't it?" Bulma grinned. "It looks so peaceful here."

An explosion roared in front of the ship. Bulma screamed and spun the steering wheel just in time to avoid the ball of fire.

"What was that? What's going on?" Launch wailed hysterically, wide awake now.

Another explosion slammed into the ship's side, pitching everyone's weight left. Everyone let out a shout of dismay and pain as their bodies were squeezed against the seatbelts holding them in place.

"We're being shot at!" Bulma shrieked. She leaned hard on the wheel and the ship shuddered as it swung right. There was a thundering crash from the side again and a deafening screech of tearing metal dominated the air.

"What was that?" Chi-Chi snapped.

"That was our engine exploding!" Bulma yelled. "Hold on tight, we're going to crash!"

"No we're not!" Gohan shouted. He tore off his seatbelt. "Let's get out of here before that happens!" He pointed his palm at the ceiling of the ship and shot a hole through it.

"My ship!" Bulma shrieked. "What are you thinking – there might not even be any air out there!"

"We don't have a choice - the ship's going down anyway!" Krillin quickly removed his seatbelt. "I'll carry you out!" He told Launch who had already unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her luggage. He picked her up before leaping out the hole, followed by Gohan. Chi-Chi moved to Bulma's side and swiftly picked her up.

"Wait, get my bag first!" Bulma shouted over the rumble of the ship's failing engines. "It has all the survival supplies!" Chi-Chi spun around.

"Where is it?"

"There!" Bulma pointed at the large yellow duffel bag next to the pilot's seat. Chi-Chi snatched it up, dashed to the jagged opening in the ship's top and jumped out just as the ship collided with a tree and exploded. "That was too close." Bulma sighed. Chi-Chi nodded in agreement. "And hey, this planet does have oxygen."

"Are you two okay?" Krillin called.

"We're fine!" Chi-Chi answered. "We-" She gasped and darted back, narrowly avoiding a laser shot. Bulma screamed. "Who's there?" Chi-Chi demanded.

When some of the smoke from Bulma's burning ship cleared, Chi-Chi caught sight of two men floating nearby, wearing armour similar to the ones Vegeta and Nappa had been wearing. "/What the hell? These aren't the slugs of this planet./" One of the men growled.

"/Who are you?/" The other demanded.

Bulma tilted her head. "These aren't Namekians are they?" She asked. "They don't look anything like Piccolo…"

"What did he just say?" Chi-Chi asked.

"He's wondering who we are." Bulma said.

"/They're definitely not from Namek./" The first soldier murmured. He pressed the chip embedded in the back of his neck and his scouter buzzed as a string of words rolled across it. "/It says they're speaking a language from the planet earth. Freeza scheduled it to be invaded by Vegeta's squad a while ago. They shouldn't even be alive./"

"/Let's find out what they're doing here./" The second soldier pressed his own language chip and addressed the travellers. "Who are you?"

"Hey, he knows our language too." Bulma said, looking surprised. She glared at the man. "We're from earth! Who are you and why did you shoot at us?"

"We know you're from earth! Why did you come here?" One of the soldiers demanded.

"We don't have to tell you anythin'!" Chi-Chi snapped, irritated by the man's rude tone.

"You'll tell us whatever we want, otherwise we'll kill you!" The two aimed their guns at the women.

Bulma's arms tightened around Chi-Chi's neck. "Why did you get them angry?" She hissed.

"It's fine." Chi-Chi hissed back. "Stop chokin' me!"

"This is your last warning! Tell us what we want to know or else-" The rest of his sentence was cut off when he and his partner were struck from behind by Gohan and Krillin. The soldiers dropped like stones, splashing loudly as they fell into the water below.

"My, this place doesn't seem too safe." Launch commented, looking concerned. "Maybe we should find a place to hide."

"Good idea." Bulma agreed. "Once we do that, I'll set up the radio and contact my dad." She said shakily. "I'm going to tell him to ship Goku over here now."

"Wait." Chi-Chi interrupted. "So far there haven't been any huge threats and there's still a chance of Vegeta goin' back to earth. Goku should be there if he decides to come back."

"…I guess we'll hold off on that for now then." Bulma said. "Let's find a safe place to stay."

A faint sound of an explosion rumbled and a thin line of black smoke became visible in the distance. Everyone stared at it and then looked at each other.

"I'm going." Gohan said resolutely.

Chi-Chi sighed. "Of course you are. We all are, but we're goin' to lay low first and see if we can figure out what's goin' on before rushin' in and doin' anythin'. Got it?" Gohan nodded.

"K, let's go."

-x-x-x-

"/Give us your dragonball!/" A soldier clad in a rounded white helmet with a glass visor, and wide-shouldered yellow, black and white body armour shouted. "/The first shot was a warning! Next time, I'll shoot one of you slugs!/" The other eight men with him aimed their guns at the closest live targets.

The Namekians glanced at each other and the oldest one, Moori stepped forward with his hands raised, followed by a tall, powerfully built Namekian who silently glared at the attackers. "/Please lower your weapons. I must ask that you leave./"

"/You're in no position to be asking for anything./" The soldier snarled. He aimed his gun at the elder, prompting the younger Namekian to move in front of Moori. "/Last chance. Give up the dragonball or die./" When no one moved, the soldier spat impatiently. "/Die then./" A sneering grin curved the ends of his lips and he quickly shifted his gun so it was aimed at two children instead. Dende and Cargo shrieked fearfully, shutting their eyes and clinging to each other.

"/No, wait!/" Moori shouted.

The soldier pressed the trigger. The villagers cried out in dismay as the children were lost in the resulting explosion. "/Monster!/"

"/Are you going to listen this time?/" The soldier smirked. "/Or will I have to kill another one?/"

"Stop it!" A new voice called out.

"/Who's there?/"

The smoke cleared and revealed a small boy with a fierce glare. His hand was outstretched and there was a small smoking crater in the ground in front of him. Behind him, Dende and Cargo were still clutching each other tightly, but appeared to be completely unharmed.

"/Who are you?/" The soldier demanded. The boy continued to glare at him without answering. "/You want to die? Answer me!/"

"Stop this and leave." Gohan growled.

"/What the hell is he saying?/" All the soldiers pressed their language chips. "Want to say that again, brat?"

"I said stop it and leave." Gohan repeated. "Jerks."

"You're the one who should leave, if you want to stay alive." All the guns were aimed at Gohan now. "Not that you're going to get the chance." Gohan smiled.

"What's so funny?"

"Take your men and go." The soldier spun around in surprise at the other unfamiliar voice. His eyes bugged out in surprise at the sight of his entire squad lying unconscious on the ground. A woman and a man, clearly aliens, stared at him, both looking utterly unconcerned. "Or do we need to convince you too?" Krillin asked smugly.

The soldier backed away. "You'll regret this!" He snarled. "Lord Freeza will kill you all!" As he backed away, Krillin darted in front of him and swiftly punched him across the face. The man briefly wobbled on his feet and slumped to the ground.

"I figured we shouldn't let him tell his boss what happened." Krillin said.

"_Lord_ Freeza?" Chi-Chi repeated curiously. "I wonder if Vegeta's workin' for him too…these guys are wearin' the same armor as him…"

"Someone strong enough to order Vegeta around? What a nightmare." Krillin groaned.

"What are we gonna do with these guys?" Chi-Chi asked, gesturing to the unconscious men. "They're going to wake up sooner or later…"

"I guess we'll deal with that when it happens." Krillin said sheepishly.

"Is it safe now?" Launch called out.

"Yeah, you can come out." Krillin said. Bulma and Launch walked out from behind one of the many dome-shaped buildings. The two women cautiously looked about and nodded with nervous smiles as they moved to join their friends. Bulma noticed the Namekians murmuring amongst themselves as they openly stared at them. Smiling, she stepped forward. "/Hello. We are not here to hurt anyone. We are visitors, looking for help./" She said in Namekian.

The elder who had tried to reason with the attackers moved forward, looking surprised at hearing her speak. "/Hello./" He said cautiously. He looked nervously at the others behind Bulma. "/Your friends are strong…they defeated those men so quickly./"

Bulma grinned, winking at him. "/That was nothing. They were not even trying- but we're not here to fight anyone unless they're trying to hurt others./" She said quickly when the old man's nervous expression intensified. "/I am sorry. We must seem weird because we suddenly appeared without explanation and beat these people up…I promise we don't have any bad intentions though. Oh! I will introduce everyone to you!/" She put a hand on her chest. "/I am Bulma./"

"Bulma…" The man repeated slowly. "/I am Moori./" Grinning, she nodded and then introduced everyone else. Seeing that the newcomers were friendly, the rest of the Namekians moved forward to get a closer look at the curious visitors.

"I guess we'll have to keep askin' Bulma if we want to know what everyone's sayin'." Chi-Chi said.

"There is no need for that." Moori said, pronouncing the words perfectly.

"Bwuh-?" Bulma stared at him, slack-jawed. "H-how?"

"My people have the gift of...all-speak...all-languages…?" He frowned. "There is no good translation in this language for what it is… We can learn a language by perceiving a single aspect of it. It was a gift from…a great power, requested by one of the elders of long ago in order to encourage good relationships between our people and all the peoples we may meet. Speaking the language of these invaders did not help us though." Moori explained forlornly.

"When did they come here?" Chi-Chi asked.

"Not long before you did." Moori answered solemnly. "Shortly after they arrived, they began to seek out and attack our villages. Our warriors are able to defend us, but not all of our villages have warriors, and more troubling, there is news that a being far more powerful than any other in the universe is accompanying one of the invading groups and slaughtering anyone who does not comply with his demands… Some of our people have escaped on ships, but it has become difficult to do so lately, as the invaders have taken to shooting down any ships they see in the sky."

"There are so few of you…" Bulma said, looking around the small village.

"There are more of us in different villages and off-world." Moori explained. "Many suns ago when our planet was afflicted by a great disaster, some of our ancestors took to the skies in order to find another safe and flourishing planet. I am part of the few that stayed behind in hopes of reviving our original home planet."

"That's amazing." Gohan said, wide-eyed as he thought of Piccolo, or maybe his parents, coming to earth years before to escape the disaster-ridden environment of their planet. Where and how had they lived? _'I'm glad Mr. Piccolo came to earth.' _A small pang of guilt snaked through him.

"Could it be…?" Bulma murmured thoughtfully. "Moori, I have another question. You mentioned "a great power" earlier. Were you talking about the dragonballs?"

Moori's eyes widened. "How did you-?"

"We had a Namekian living on our planet…we called him Kami and he was the guardian of our planet." She explained. "His parents sent him off Namek at the time of the disaster."

"Remarkable…" Moori murmured. "How is he?"

The group's expressions became sombre. "He died recently…" Bulma said. "Saiyans invaded our planet and killed many of our friends…" She decided to let him assume the rest rather than start a long-winded explanation about the Kami-Piccolo situation.

"I see…that's unfortunate." Moori sighed. "So many of us have seen death recently…"

Bulma nodded. "But…that's what brought us here in the first place." At Moori's confused look, Bulma continued. "When Kami died, earth's dragonballs disappeared. We came here hoping we could use yours. Once we bring Kami back, our dragonballs would return and we could wish our friends back with them. We can even wish your friends back too if we word it right!"

"I see." Moori murmured. He nodded. "Well, I cannot refuse such a request. To be honest, I did not intend to tell you about the dragonballs, as it is the reason for why we are currently being invaded, but in your case, we will be more than happy to help you on your quest. Xobes?" He turned to address at the Namekian who had been protecting him earlier and nodded at him. Xobes walked into one of the houses and came out with a large, bright orange, glass-like ball with six darker orange stars on its surface.

Bulma's eyes rounded. "It's so big – like one fourth of me! Ours are the size of baseballs- ah wait, you don't have those…well they're much smaller."

The faint sound of beeping caught Krillin's attention. He looked around curiously for the source and his smile faded when he caught sight of the flashing scouter on one the unconscious soldiers' faces. Frowning, Krillin walked to downed man and tapped the device. Feeling a sense of foreboding he glanced at all of the scouters. To his dismay they were all flickering at the exact same intervals of time. The approaching power signatures abruptly flared in his senses. Realization jerked him to his feet. "The scouters- that's how they're finding you!" He extended a hand and shot a quick succession of beams to destroy all the scouters in the area. "They're coming this way now! Including-" He grimaced. "Whoever is coming this way is incredibly strong."

"What?" Bulma shrieked. "What do we do?"

"We should run away!" Launch said nervously. She glanced at the Namekian children huddled together nearby. "If we leave now, we could find a big enough hiding place for all of us, couldn't we?"

"Someone with power like that would be able to catch up to us in no time, regardless of how far we got." Krillin said grimly. "And if they're using their scouters, they'll notice the entire village of people moving."

Chi-Chi pressed her lips together in a straight line as she considered their options. She sighed. It wasn't ideal, but… "Gohan! You take Launch, Bulma and the rest of the villagers to a safe place! Krillin and I will stay behind to stall whoever's comin'!" Chi-Chi said. "If you can suppress your energy to the same level as villagers' while Krillin and I raise ours, maybe whoever's comin' will take it as a challenge and forget about the rest of you."

"What?" Gohan yelped. "I'm not leaving!"

"He's right. All of you must go. I will stay behind." Moori said calmly before anyone else could speak. "If he is as powerful as you say he is, none of you will survive this encounter. I will hold him here under the pretence that I am still in possession of the dragonball and wish to use it as a means to save the lives of my people. While he is here, you must take my people and the dragonball as far away as possible."

There was a moment of shocked silence before everyone spoke at once, making protests and urges for other ideas.

"There has to be another way!" Bulma said.

Moori smiled at her, shaking his head. "Your friends already know that is impossible."

"Then I will stay with you." Xobes stepped forward. "I will use your idea," he said to Chi-Chi, "and raise my energy as a challenge and distraction while everyone escapes."

"I cannot ask you to do this." Moori protested.

"Your ploy will look more convincing with a warrior at your side." Xobes said.

"I'm sorry." Moori murmured. "Thank you Xobes." He turned to the group from earth. "I know it is selfish of me to ask this of you now…but please help protect my people from the horror that has come to our planet." Moori said.

"We will. I promise." Krillin said, looking pained. "We'll do our best." The others nodded along with him.

"Well, if you're goin' to be doin' this… then we'll act as some extra insurance." Chi-Chi said. "Bulma, Launch and Gohan will go along with the villagers to a safe place. Krillin and I will take the dragonball in another direction. If you can't stall him for much longer…then tell him where we went. It's the dragonballs he's after, so he'll definitely go after us. Sorry Krillin." Chi-Chi apologized.

"It's fine. I wouldn't let you do this alone." Krillin said.

"Then I should go with you too!" Gohan said anxiously.

"You need to protect everyone in case things don't go as planned." Chi-Chi said firmly. "Can you do that for me?"

"Yes mom." Gohan mumbled, clearly unhappy about the arrangement.

"Is this okay with you?" Chi-Chi asked, looking at Moori and Xobes. A small smile crossed Xobes's face and he nodded.

"You are very brave." Moori said. "Thank you."

-x-x-x-

They arrived shortly after everyone had left.

"/It was quite an uncivilized invitation, but I was curious enough to accept./" Freeza commented as he and two soldiers descended before Xobes and Moori.

The Namekians remained silent, expressions rigidly sombre.

"/My, how rude. I know from previous encounters with your people that you can speak any language in the universe./" Freeza said. When there was no answer, he sighed then shrugged. "/Well, I suppose I can offer you this courtesy if nothing else./" He pressed the language chip on the back of his skull. His subordinates Zarbon and Dodoria followed suit.

"/Now, to reciprocate our act of courtesy, tell me what it is you want us to see. If you are merely wasting our time, I will have my men pursue your fleeing people and kill them all. And you can be certain of the fact that the ones behind me are far more capable fighters than the garbage lying around you./" Freeza looked disdainfully at the unconscious men strewn about the village.

Moori swallowed thickly and straightened. "/I wish to negotiate with you./"

Freeza chuckled. "/You mean you wish for me to guarantee the safety of your people in exchange for the dragonball?/"

"/Yes./"

"/I will need to see the dragonball before guaranteeing anything./"

"/How can we be sure that you will not simply take it and kill our people anyway? You have already murdered many of my kin./" Moori gritted his teeth to control the immediate flood of anger he felt at the words.

"/Well, the reality is that you have no choice./" Freeza's black lips stretched into an insincere smile. "/Where is the dragonball?/"

"/Find it yourself monster!/" Xobes growled before Moori could speak. "/But no wish will be granted for such a filthy creature./"

Freeza tilted his head and pointed a finger at Xobes. A beam of energy sliced through his knee and pulled a scream from the warrior. He collapsed onto his other leg, tightly clutching his scorched bleeding limb.

"/Xobes!" Moori stepped in front of him. "/Do not incur his anger…he is too strong for you to fight./"

"/Where is it? I am growing impatient./" Freeza's eyes narrowed.

"/I…I cannot tell you./" Moori growled.

Freeza sighed. "/You mean you will not. Dodoria./" The rotund pink alien with spikes lining his entire body stepped forward and blurred from sight. Xobes let out a choked gurgle as something thick closed around his neck and lifted him off his feet. "Xobes!" Moori spun around in shock. _'How could we lose control of this situation so quickly?' _He released and sucked in a ragged breath. _'No…we never had any control to begin with.' _

"/Will you tell us, or will you be cruel and let your friend suffer needlessly?/" Freeza asked. Dodoria flexed his arm, pulling an agonized wheeze from his hostage. Moori shuddered and opened his mouth.

"/Don't…tell…/" Xobes hissed. Then letting out a roar he whipped his hand into Dodoria's face, claws piercing the skin of his eye and smashing the scouter. With his other hand, Xobes simultaneously released a shot that exploded Zarbon's scouter.

The sudden jolt of pain surprised Dodoria; enraged, he instinctively reacted and snapped Xobes's neck.

"/My eye!/" Dodoria screamed, dropping Xobes's body and clutching the seeping wound.

"/Dodoria! Shut up!/" Freeza barked. Despite his injury, Dodoria immediately quieted. "/You stupid thing, you killed our leverage./" Freeza sighed. "/I'm disappointed Dodoria. Perhaps I was hasty in recruiting you. And you, couldn't you have dodged that?/" Freeza glanced disapprovingly at Zarbon.

"/My apologies Lord Freeza./" Zarbon delicately brushed the debris from his skin and hair, apparently uninjured.

"/F-forgive me Lord Freeza./" Dodoria whimpered. "/Please forgive me…I didn't mean to-/"

"/Shut up you fool./" Freeza snarled. Dodoria snapped his mouth closed.

"/Xobes…/" Moori hissed, despair weighing down his limbs. "/Monster./" He glared at Freeza. We do not have what you're looking for!/" moving swiftly, he shot at Freeza's scouter. Freeza casually dodged the attack by tilting his head.

"/Don't be stupid. Lord Freeza is the strongest being in the universe./" Zarbon said. "/And your lies are useless. We know each village with an elder has a dragonball. We already got all the information out of your friends./"

Moori cringed as he thought of what the others must have endured. "/No. We have…we have already given it to a group of peaceful travellers!/" Moori rasped. "/We have nothing for you to take./"

Freeza's eyes narrowed. "/Group of travellers?/" His long black nails clicked in succession against the glinting metal surface of his chair arm. _'There was a recent report of a Namekian ship landing…then a group of visiting slugs are collecting the dragonballs for themselves?' _A sour look crossed his face. "/This complicates things./" He looked at Moori. "/You still have a chance to spare yourself./" Freeza's lip curled up in a thin, unfriendly smile. "/Which way did those travellers go?/"

"/It would be in your best interests to talk./" Zarbon said, lifting a glowing hand.

"/Stop./" Zarbon relaxed and stepped back. A slow smile wormed across Freeza's face and Moori's skin began to prickle with dread. "/I seem to have used the wrong threat. You don't care about your own life; that much should have been obvious from the fact that you stayed behind to delay us while the rest of your village escaped. Why don't I change the terms?/" He leaned forward in his chair. "/You left us with one functioning scouter. If I must waste time using it to locate those travellers, then I will also use this scouter to hunt down every last member of your race. And I promise you, each and every one of them will die a long, torturous death and it will be the sensitive flesh of the children that I take the most time with./" Freeza grinned - it was more a hungry baring of teeth. "/Now tell me. Which way did those travellers go?/"

Moori swallowed hard. _'Forgive me…' _Guilt assailed him as he realized he would have to accept the visitors' offer of sacrifice. "/There are two of them. They went that way./" He pointed. Then Moori closed his eyes and waited for his attackers to kill him.

-x-x-x-

"/There are two power signatures moving quickly in that direction./" Freeza said, tapping his scouter to hone in on the fleeing targets. "/Hardly anything to be worried about though./" He removed his scouter and with a light flick of his hand, tossed the device to Dodoria. "/Go after them Dodoria./" Freeza said. "/Kill those Namekians and bring me the dragonball. I'll have you skinned if you fail./"

-x-x-x-

"Someone's comin' after us now." Chi-Chi said grimly. She and Krillin had both felt Xobes and Moori's lives disappear and had expected the enemy to begin pursuing them.

"He's fast." Krillin growled. "Even if we go at top speed…"

"We'll keep going the same speed we are now." Chi-Chi said. "Otherwise we'll be too tired to fight him. Got any ideas?"

"Kinda." Krillin said nervously. "We still might die though."

"Who knows. Maybe we'll get lucky." Chi-Chi grinned with more confidence than she felt. "So what's your plan?"

-x-x-x-

'_/There they are!/' _Dodoria's good eye widened when he caught sight of his targets. _'/…but they don't look like those slugs?/' _He frowned, shaking his head. _'/Whatever they are, it doesn't matter! They have the dragonball!/' _He checked the readings on his scouter and smirked. The numbers were pathetically low. Regaining Freeza's favour would be easy. Concentrating, he aimed at the shorter one holding the dragonball and threw his attack. To his shock, his quarry dodged the attack with ease and sped up. The numbers on his scouter marginally rose. _'/How could he have- he wasn't even looking this way!/' _"It doesn't matter how fast you are, I'll still catch up!" Dodoria shouted. "Give me that dragonball now!"

"Whenever you're ready." Chi-Chi said, shutting her eyes.

Krillin nodded and spun around. "Solar flare!" He shouted, splaying his fingers over either side of his face. Dodoria howled as surges of light burned away his sight. He shut his remaining eye tightly, rubbing at it furiously with his thick scaly hand.

Chi-Chi flew at him, concentrating her energy into her leg. She somersaulted in the air and executed an axe-kick. Her heel slammed into his head and belted him headfirst into the water below. "Go!" Chi-Chi barked. She and Krillin pushed all their strength into flying as far from Dodoria as they could.

"I'll kill you!" Dodoria screamed as he burst up from the water. Breathing hard, teeth gritted with rage, he tilted his head and listened. "It's no use trying to escape, even if I can't see, I can still hear you!" Dodoria bellowed and to Chi-Chi and Krillin's horror he began to fly right at them.

"Plan B!" Krillin yelled.

"Right!" Chi-Chi began charging an attack. Simultaneously, Krillin raised his hand above his head then began to make circular motions in the air with his arm. A flat circular blade of energy appeared in the air above his hand. Chi-Chi swung her energy blast at Dodoria, dismayed when the impact barely slowed him down.

Dodoria let out a scream of frustration and began to hurl multitudes of energy grenades at them. Krillin and Chi-Chi dodged the barrage easily, thankful of Dodoria's sloppy aim. Krillin grimaced. "Damnit, It's tricky to do this while I'm flying!"

Chi-Chi grabbed his waist and took the dragonball. "I'll fly! You concentrate on your attack!" She darted left, closely avoiding an attack that nearly took their heads.

"Thanks!" The disc in Krillin's hand doubled in size. "Almost!" Chi-Chi nodded as she weaved between the explosions lighting up the sky. The attacks seemed to grow more accurate with each second and she realized Dodoria was already regaining his sight.

Dodoria blinked rapidly and realizing his sight had completely returned, he fixed his eyes on Krillin and Chi-Chi. "You're dead!" He snarled, careening at them.

"Krillin!" Chi-Chi shouted, bracing herself.

Krillin swung his arm just as Dodoria reached them.

Dodoria froze in midair, face still contorted with rage. He couldn't remember why he had suddenly decided to stop. He saw Krillin with his hand outstretched, nearly touching his face. Dodoria reached out to grab his neck. Then everything exploded in red.

Krillin winced and darted back when blood spurted in all directions from Dodoria's bisected form. His destructo disc had gone straight through Dodoria's head and down his entire body. When the remains of Dodoria's body disappeared into the waters below, Chi-Chi let out the breath she had been holding and released Krillin.

"That was…too close." She huffed.

"You're telling me." Krillin said shakily. He grinned. "But we're still alive, which counts for a lot."

Chi-Chi stared at him in disbelief, and then let out a bark of laughter. "That sounds like somethin' Goku would say." She wiped the sweat from her forehead. "But…maybe that's why I feel okay right now." The two shared a laugh.

The roar of a ship sounded in the distance. Chi-Chi looked up just as a Saiyan pod ship streaked across the sky. A familiar life signature registered in her senses and she froze. "No way…" She whispered. "That's…"

"It's Vegeta." Krillin said in a strangled voice. "He…he came here."

"And now I feel a little less okay." Chi-Chi said in a similarly strained tone.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

-x-x-x-

Woo hoo~ And that concludes chapter nine!

I included that part with Nail moving Guru's home underground because with the invaders going around looking for Namekians to kill, it really would have been a bad move not to go into hiding. Especially when you live in a house on a high, thin pillar of rock. I always wondered why no one else was able to find Guru's place until they were led there, because it's…well, up in the sky and pretty obviously a home for someone.

And if anything in the chapter seems a little random, well…it might just be because I love dropping hints about things to come…as you may have noticed in previous chapters~

Apologies for the length of time this chapter took! But thank you readers and reviewers for your patience and awesome comments! Your support really brightens my day 3

An extra thank you goes to reviewer: Individual Lies, who pointed out an error in chapter eight, wherein the moon suddenly reappeared when it was destroyed a few chapters earlier! Nice catch!

Also, in regards to dbzfan's question: I definitely think that Gohan's power isn't just the result of Goku's genes alone – Chi-Chi's genes also played their part in making Gohan an awesome fighter with loads of potential and power. I probably won't be going in depth with that angle in this fic though, it's just something that I consider a fact.

See you all in the next chapter~!


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